Two organizations focused on leadership in the built environment are now working in unison to explore ways public-private partnerships (P3) can be used to achieve high-performance buildings. The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) are bringing together international experts on the utilization of P3 to address current government challenges and advance the achievement of a high-performance building stock.
Building owners and policy makers are becoming increasingly interested in the performance of buildings. Whether driven by sustainability, resilience concerns or the desire to protect the investments of taxpayer dollars, government agencies are under increasing pressure to achieve performance-based requirements. These pressures are coming at a time when budgets for new facilities, major capital improvements and long-term maintenance are contracting. Utilizing P3s may help governments overcome challenges related to project financing while driving achievement of performance requirements.
Despite their potential benefits, P3s have not been widely used for building projects in the United States. However, many governments, including Canada, Australia and members of the European Union, have found success in utilizing the approach for facilities such as schools, hospitals and prisons.
“Public-private partnerships can be a great tool for government agencies to improve energy efficiency, resilience and other high-performance building attributes, while reducing the cost of implementation,” said NIBS President Henry L. Green, Hon. AIA. "With the Institute's focus on achieving high-performance buildings and expertise in whole building design, and RICS's expertise in project finance and access to international best practices, we hope to lead the way towards greater use of P3s."
Despite their potential benefits, P3s have not been widely used for building projects in the United States. However, many governments, including Canada, Australia and members of the European Union, have found success in utilizing the approach for facilities such as schools, hospitals and prisons. And some P3 experts and organizations in the field think it’s about time to expand application of the concept to buildings in the U.S.
“The idea of applying the P3 concept more to buildings, and especially building performance, is a potentially promising new avenue in the U.S. for this powerful and creative partnership model,” said Americas Managing Director for RICS Neil Shah. “We are enthusiastic about collaborating on this initiative with NIBS, and combining our extensive resources to see how private industry can help public agencies to maximize energy efficiency and save taxpayer dollars. And we look forward to having more to say on this important subject at next year’s RICS Summit of the Americas.”
Shifting to a greater focus on building performance across the facility life-cycle is a more cost-effective and efficient way to achieve high-performance buildings. At the beginning of the P3 process, the government agency occupying the building identifies the required performance and terms of the project. With the performance requirements defined early, the private partner can then work across the design, construction and operations phases of the project to identify the most cost-effective strategy to assure such requirements are met.
International authority on housing, real estate and infrastructure Sandy Apgar, FRICS, CRE, FIoD, FRSA explained, “P3s enable public authorities and private firms to solve complex building problems that neither could accomplish by working alone. The larger and more complex the project, the more likely it is that a P3 vehicle can leverage government and business resources, and save time and cost over conventional single sector structures.”
Such an approach also encourages the use of emerging best practices (including integrative design processes), adequate training of operations personnel and the sharing of building information.
“Government laboratories have unique research equipment and skills that few businesses can match. And military housing P3s have pioneered award-winning, energy-efficient, environmentally responsible buildings and neighborhoods, through novel site layouts, ‘green’ construction materials, and numerous other technical and operational innovations,” Apgar continued. “On the other hand, businesses have organizational know-how, management systems, and pro-active cultures that are challenging for public agencies to adopt, and could help government agencies integrate and make the most of these private-sector innovations.”
NIBS and RICS are set to begin work on the P3 project this summer and are looking for input from industry experts. The two organizations plan to issue a report on the topic in April 2016 at the RICS Summit of the Americas in Washington, D.C.
Experts interested in participating in this effort can contact Ryan Colker at NIBS [rcolker@nibs.org] or Thomas Pienaar at RICS [tpienaar@rics.org] to learn how get involved.
Related Stories
| Sep 18, 2014
Master Painter Institute approves 55 new paint products
The Master Painter Institute has issued approvals for 55 new paint products.
| Sep 18, 2014
OSHA announces new requirements for reporting deaths and severe injuries
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced a final rule requiring employers to notify OSHA when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.
| Sep 18, 2014
Eugene, Ore., passes ordinance to achieve steep energy consumption reductions
The Eugene, Ore., City Council recently passed an ordinance aimed at steeply reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
| Sep 10, 2014
Nine out of 10 New York City building plans fail energy code test
Earlier this year, New York City's Department of Buildings began auditing thousands of architectural plans for new and renovated office and residential buildings.
| Sep 10, 2014
AIA, CSI, and NIBS publish updated national CAD standard, includes new BIM module
The NCS helps architects, constructors and operators coordinate efforts by classifying electronic design data consistently and making information retrieval easier, the industry groups say.
| Sep 10, 2014
Perry named new director of OSHA’s Standards and Guidance Directorate
Bill Perry has been named new director of the OSHA’s Directorate of Standards and Guidance, effective Aug. 24, 2014.
| Sep 10, 2014
ASHRAE proposes verification for energy standard
The ASHRAE/IES energy standard would have multiple compliance options to ensure verification of delivered building envelope performance under a new proposal.
| Sep 2, 2014
Micro-apartment concept can’t get traction in Boston suburb
Micro-apartments are gaining acceptance in nearby Boston and in places such as San Francisco and New York, but Weymouth, Mass., officials and neighbors were not receptive to a proposal for tiny dwellings this summer.
| Sep 2, 2014
Montreal borough leader urges city to issue green roof guidelines
The mayor of Montreal's Saint-Laurent borough wants Quebec's housing authority to speed up its plan to publish construction guidelines for green roofs.
| Sep 2, 2014
Proposed federal rules would create more stringent healthcare facility safety rules
A key change is a requirement that buildings over 75 feet tall have sprinkler systems throughout the structure. Existing buildings would have 12 years to install them.
