'If we as an industry want to be responsive to demands from the facilities management marketplace, we have to improve and be more open minded about this trend.'
By Brian K. Birch
The 2013 Snow Strategies Forum was a great experience. First, it was fun. Second, it was full of useful information. And third, there were some really smart people there. One smart guy in the room on day 2 was attorney Stuart Kaplow. Pretty much no one in the snow removal industry knew Kaplow before this event. But Kaplow, an expert on LEED for Green Buildings, gave one of the best presentations we’ve seen in a while.
Kaplow presented critical information that we simply cannot ignore in the snow removal industry. Here are some stats provided by Kaplow about the growth of LEED in North America:
- 44% of new non-residential construction was green in 2012 (7 years ago less than 2% was green)
- 1.5 million square feet certifies to LEED per day
- Today there are 53,000+ LEED certified commercial projects either certified or in the process of being certified
Kaplow did offer some help to those in attendance. He provided insightful information about LEED EB (for Existing Buildings), the part of LEED that can directly impact snow removal. He also furnished attendees with a template plan that can help position them as a proactive resource in helping achieve LEED-certified status for a property.
SIMA is focusing on this issue as well. We are committed to positioning SIMA as a key resource where snow contractors can be connected with quality information about LEED and a trend that we all can't ignore.
Brian Birch, CAE is the Chief Operating Officer for the Snow & Ice Management Association and can be reached at Brian@sima.org.
