Energy Legislation in Limbo

摘要

Sometimes I wonder if we sound like a broken record or if our efforts are futile. Every session of Congress, BOMA and its coalition partners strive to enact meaningful bipartisan energy legislation, only to be thwarted by a Congress seemingly determined to accomplish nothing. The real estate industry and environmentalists often find themselves at odds with each other. Though they work to achieve their respective sustainability goals, their means of doing so are quite different. Real estate usually promotes voluntary incentive programs while environmentalists typically favor mandates. However, both groups are now compromising and partnering to overcome barriers. Our coalitions have become much broader, which allows us to present compromised solutions - already vetted by all major stakeholders - to members of Congress. If real estate and environmentalists can come to an agreement on energy efficiency issues, the rest should be a slam dunk, right?