Direct integration enables organizations to determine ENERGY STAR rating, benchmark building performance and calculate carbon footprint 

RALEIGH, N.C. – October 26, 2010 – FM:Systems, a leading provider of integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) and facility management software, today announced the availability of FM:Interact’s direct integration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® energy performance rating system. The direct integration allows FM:Interact to seamlessly deliver ENERGY STAR performance ratings, the most widely used benchmark for energy use in commercial buildings.

The FM:Interact integration takes building energy usage information stored in the FM:Interact Sustainability Module and sends it directly to the EPA’s Portfolio Manager software. Portfolio Manager calculates the building’s ENERGY STAR rating and carbon footprint and returns that data to FM:Interact. This data is also available to ENERGY STAR Partner organizations and other users of the EPA Portfolio Manager tool. Facility managers and real estate professionals can then benchmark their buildings against similar buildings nationwide, identify which buildings in their portfolio rank well and which need improvement, and recognize exemplary performing buildings with the prestigious ENERGY STAR Label. This information is becoming essential for companies interested in reducing their energy costs, carbon footprint, and gaining recognition through ENERGY STAR and LEED certification.

“With almost 5 million commercial buildings that annually consume $107.9 billion for energy and contribute 17 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, just a small percentage reduction in consumption could produce dramatic results,” said Bill Von Neida, senior program manager with the ENERGY STAR program under the U.S. EPA. “We’re pleased to see FM:Systems help their customers take the steps needed to improve these statistics.”

“By adding the EPA ENERGY STAR Integration to its software, FM:Systems is helping support IFMA’s mission of helping our members reduce energy use, save money, and improve environmental performance,” said Eric Teicholz, chairman of IFMA’s sustainability task force. “The IFMA Energy Challenge: IFMA encourages all organizations to work towards reducing their energy use by 15 percent. With its new integration capabilities, FM:Systems customers who are members of IFMA can share their progress with our ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account. We are grateful for the support, and hope to make a significant impact in the carbon footprint of our members.”

The FM:Interact Sustainability Module
The FM:Interact Sustainability Module helps facilities and real estate professionals bring environmental and financial impacts into balance. From a standard Web browser, users can manage critical information on energy performance, building certifications and sustainability projects like energy retrofits. The Sustainability Module enables users to: 

• Analyze building environmental impacts (energy, water, greenhouse gas emissions, recycling, waste and others)
• Forecast sustainability projects’ financial impacts (net present value, internal rate of return, ROI, payback period) and environmental impacts
• Integrate with EPA’s Automated Benchmarking System to calculate a buildings’ ENERGY STAR ratings, carbon footprint and more
• Manage building assessments and certifications using rating systems like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Green Globes, or BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)
• Engage occupants and management with enterprise access to sustainability information and dashboards

About FM:Systems, Inc.
By connecting people, place and process, FM:Systems helps facilities and real-estate professionals improve customer service, reduce costs and increase productivity enterprise-wide. FM:Systems Web-based software improves management of space, occupancy, moves, maintenance, leases and property. Customer results include: real estate costs reduced by 15 percent, move spend reduced by 88 percent, enterprise productivity savings of $1.5 million and an internal customer satisfaction rate of 97 percent.

Many of the world’s leading organizations rely on FM:Systems products, including Ally, CA, Devon Energy, DuPont, Herman Miller, Indiana University, Lockheed Martin, National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), Northwestern University, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Progress Energy, Target stores, the U.S. Census Bureau and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. 

FM:Systems is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, and conducts business in the Americas, Africa, Europe  and Asia Pacific. For more information about FM:Systems, please visit www.fmsystems.com

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