Living Planet @ Work company of the month: Crown Property Management Inc.

Most successful environmental efforts seem to have a partnership element to it.   And we’re seeing this especially in the budding relationship between landlords and tenants on sustainability.  Forward-thinking tenants are increasingly looking to operate in greener buildings, and progressive landlords are seeing the opportunity to increase their competitiveness.
Take for example, Crown Property Management Inc. – which recently joined WWF’s Living Planet @ Work program – a company that owns and manages 21 office buildings throughout the GTA.  They recognize that making their buildings more energy efficient and sustainable helps them to save money, attract and retain quality tenants, and maximize the asset value of their buildings.   They also realize that their success significantly relies on the extent to which their tenants also see the value in, make the best use of and contribute to Crown’s sustainability initiatives.   By proactively working with their building operators and tenants, the company is making “people, planet, profit” – and partnerships – a reality.

Photo credit: Amanda Vortisch from catalystdesigns.ca

 
Each month, Crown’s Sustainable Programs Coordinator Mark Halkias leads a forum for building operations staff to provide them with learning and training on environmental efficiency and sustainability as well as updates on each building’s energy consumption.  These forums not only help to enhance the visibility of and responsibility for the environment, they also facilitate the sharing of best practices across the building operators.  Mark also encourages the development of and directly supports tenant-led green teams in their buildings.
Crown’s properties at the Concorde Corporate Centre are the embodiment of this partnership between a landlord and its tenants, with a suite of initiatives that include efficiency upgrades leading to a BOMA BESt Level 3 Certification; a recycling program that collects organics, e-waste and light bulbs; the installation of EV charging stations; and participation in FLAP to reduce bird collisions.  They even conduct regular “midnight audits” to identify energy savings opportunities from computers and lights that have been left on overnight and on weekends.  Tenants also actively participate in Earth Hour, Earth Week and community cleanups to engage employees.
12 Concorde Place has now become the “flagship testing ground” to pilot new initiatives and was awarded the BOMA Earth Award in 2009.   Check out this Garden in the Sky video about their collaboration with their tenant ESRI Canada to build a green roof.
Are you a commercial property manager or tenant working to advance building`s sustainability efforts and engage employees?  Have you found new ways to partner and collaborate with each other?  We would love to hear from you!  Check out Living Planet @ Work to learn more!