As Quarter 1 of 2024 closes, energy usage reports are highlighting why it is important for our clients to be informed about their energy consumption and procurement options. At The Stone House Group, we will empower your energy strategy using the latest insights to make the best choice for your facilities. As industry experts, we understand the challenges faced by diverse sectors, including education, finance, and governance, in managing energy needs efficiently. Let's delve into key updates and trends shaping the energy market for Quarter 1 of 2024, offering invaluable insights for your energy strategy.

2024 is a big year for building owners in NYC, and it's time to buckle down and tackle the various sustainability and energy-related local laws coming into effect. The changes you make this year to your facilities will have a major impact on your organization's compliance with regulations and potential fines. The Stone House Group is here to help you navigate these multifaceted regulations and comply in a timely manner.

Strategies for Mitigating Air Quality Impact

The recent excessive wildfires raging across Canada have led to a “smoke wave” across the Northeast which encompassed the Lehigh Valley. Yet, situations like the one that played out in the beginning of June are not an on-off event. According to the Canadian Government’s National Wildfire Situation Report, as of June 20, 2023, 385 fires are burning across Canada; 130 are considered uncontrolled, and at this point in 2023, over 5.8 million hectares have burned. Projected weather patterns and the resulting movement of the wildfire smoke indicate there is potential for the Lehigh Valley to be repeatedly impacted throughout the summer by "smoke waves".

Facilities changes made during COVID are being taken to the next level as school prepare for the longer-term future.

As another school year draws to a close, thoughts naturally turn to summer and the ubiquitous facilities “to-do” list. Over the past two years, most independent schools have been in reactive mode, quickly adjusting and adapting the physical space to meet the changing needs and requirements resulting from the pandemic. Because we are now at a point where we can begin to think more proactively about facilities, we now have the space to consider not only those immediate tasks — the summer to-dos — but also longer-term changes in the way that independent schools think about their physical plant.

Several factors have combined to create an imbalance between natural gas supply and demand, which has driven natural gas costs to double this year. Organizations that developed energy procurement strategies well in advance of this year likely locked in long-term natural gas and electric supply contracts in 2019/20 and will be protected from current market pricing increases for now. However, organizations that do not have supply contracts through the winter of 2021-22 will be exposed to natural gas pricing above $6 per one million British Thermal Units (MMBTU), which is the highest pricing seen since February 2014 during the polar vortex.

New York, May 4, 2021 — The winners of Fast Company’s 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards were announced today, honoring the businesses, policies, projects, and concepts that are actively engaged and deeply committed to pursuing innovation when it comes to solving health and climate crises, social injustice, or economic inequality.

Institutions of higher education are, to use Robert Orr’s phrase, “in the crosshairs and at the crossroads” of polarized public debates. The crosshairs are easy to describe -- student debt, rising tuition, freedom of expression, racial tensions -- and the list is endless. But the crossroads are harder stories to tell, or even to predict. What kinds of changes are possible, and do institutions of higher learning possess the collective will to make them?

Congratulations to our current client and neighbor in Bethlehem, PA, Lehigh University for achieving a Gold rating from AASHE STARS.  While nearly 700 institutions from throughout the world have submitted STARS reports, only 25% have achieved a gold rating, which indicates a high level of institutional sustainability.

Lehigh excels in many areas of the Sustainability Tracking Assessment & Rating System report and performs better than most reporting peer institutions in the majority of metrics.

Georgetown University is boosting its conservation and utility management efforts through a partnership with ENGIE North America. Together, these efforts will improve energy efficiency, help the university achieve ambitious sustainability goals, and positively impact students, faculty, and the community.