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Newsletter & Tips on: Going Green,

Business and Real Estate

Market Recovery: The CRE Recovery Continues

While the economy continues to face challenges, economic growth is expected to pick up in the second half of the year for commercial real estate fundamentals. The CRE recovery is expected to accelerate as the economy gathers momentum. Here are some key insights:

• The Office Market is expected to rebound.
  
• The Retail Market shows an economic uptick in the second half of the year that should be enough to stimulate retail sales and encourage retailers to become more aggressive with expansion plans.
• The Industrial Market held back slightly with the warehouse market gradually improving.

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For an in-depth look at the changes affecting real estate and these industries, read the full article at Costar.com.

Is your Workplace Safe and Productive?

American businesses spend over $170 billion per year as a result of occupational injuries and illness. Many companies are therefore looking for ways to keep their employees safe by maintaining their facilities healthy and safe. Companies can raise the bar on such issues by establishing safety and health management programs. Programs like OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program can help companies reduce their injury and illness costs by 20 to 40 percent. Organizations like Lockheed Martin and L’Oreal have already implemented such programs to help maintain employee injury and illness rates below national averages.

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For information on VPP and other cooperative programs, visit OSHA.com.

Green Mandates: Stay ahead of the Curve

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the commercial real estate industry contributes 20 percent of all U.S. greenhouse emissions energy every year. With energy use as the single largest operating expense in commercial buildings perhaps it comes as no surprise that when legislators and regulators start looking for ways to reduce energy use and cut emissions, commercial real estate is a target. The benchmarking mandates (such as Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, California’s Title 24, Part 6, of the California Code of Regulations and CALGREEN) would require building managers to audit, benchmark and provide energy usage statistics whenever buildings are bought and sold. What can you do to prepare? Here are some tips:

• Advocacy will undeniably take on major importance, as the industry lobbies for allowing the markets to self-regulate.
• Determine your energy costs. According to Carlos Santamaria, vice president – Engineering Services for Glenborough, LLC, in San Mateo, Calif., the most important first step is to profile your building and determine your energy costs.
•  Educating your tenants by helping them understand, "What's in it for me?”. Supplemental education programs, such as BOMA's BEEP program or 360 Performance Program can help.

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Waste Management Makes Recycling Easier

A new free recycling program helps companies save money by recycling ink cartridges. Launched through a partnership with Waste Management, Cartridge World Group Holdings and Cartridge World North America, the free "Recycle-2-Save" program provides a free kit for collection of used ink and toner cartridges; including shipping to the customer's facility, prepaid return shipping and customers receive discounts on their next purchase of printer cartridges.

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Inventory and Management:: Avoid Lost Profits

Storeroom managers must have strong organizational and managerial skills to maximize potential profit. One issue managers face is the lack of funding for effective and efficient use of the storeroom. In recent years, many companies have focused on the implementation of functional strategies to improve efficiency use of their storeroom.

To keep up and meet the demands of proactive maintenance and for more information on this article, visit Facilitiesnet.com.