Customers Archives - Page 2 of 3

NEW INSTALLATION: PARK IN TAICHUNG

Welcome back! Today we will be featuring a new international installation. Let’s get right to it, shall we?

This eco-friendly bathroom facility is located in Taichung. Taichung is an industrial city on the western coast of central Taiwan, however because of it’s surrounding it also plays as a gateway for exploring the island’s mountainous interior and nature.

Designed by the Environmental Integration Group, it’s purpose is to bring nature back into our everyday lives. Using environmentally friendly design concepts, the architecture firm, installed our waterfree urinals in addition to dry toilets. Not only do the waterfree fixtures save water, but they also reduce carbon emissions.

In addition to water efficiency, the design brings the outside in – with bamboo walls. With the gaps through each bamboo, you can see the natural light streaming in, without loosing privacy.

We love the overall design of the facility, as well as the environmental value of the construction. Great job guys!

SPOTLIGHT: BOBRICK’S NEW CORPORATE OFFICE

On Monday, August 10th we had the pleasure of attending Bobrick’s ribbon cutting ceremony for their new corporate office and factory. Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, was there to support local businesses and we were excited to be a part of it!

We have featured our partner on the blog before (click here for the interview) and were very excited to be a part of their new accomplishment. One of Bobrick’s core mission is to continuously improve what they do and sustainability initiatives have been undertaken company wide.

After the ceremony, Bobrick took everyone around the office structure and we were thrilled to see our waterless urinals installed in the men’s restroom!

SPOTLIGHT: TAIWAN GREEN COLLAR ASSOCIATION

Green Collar Association was founded to combine industry, government and academic resources to develop professionals focused in the ‘green industry’. By creating an educational platform for these professionals, Taiwan’s Green Collar Association facilitates job placements and stimulates growth and development of green industries in the country.

With Taiwan’s persistent water shortage problem, the retrofit and installation of water efficient devices such as waterless urinals, has become a vital change.

Thank you, Green Collar Association for letting us help you save water and provide a clean and safe environment for your employees and students alike.

USBGC’S TOP 10 LEED LIST IS OUT

2015 is shaping up to be a crucial year for the sustainability movement, and that includes the Green Building industry. There are LEED projects in more than 150 countries and territories, representing every continent except for Antarctica. You can find LEED certified buildings in highly industrialized nations as well as in newly developing ones.

Emerging economics giants like China, India and Brazil are all ranked in the top five of this year’s list. It’s great to see such a growth of LEED overseas, despite many considering it too focused on American standards.This shows the U.S. Green Building Council’s commitment to expand and integrate other nations into the process.

WILL LOW WATER USE REFLECT HIGHER RATES?

With many meeting statewide reduction goals and cutting their water use by more than 25 percent, water districts are looking to raise water prices up to 18% over the next 5 years in a bid to expand repairs of crumbling water mains and electricity infrastructure. Since water agencies rely of a certain amount to maintain infrastructure and customer service, the State Water Resource Control Board has opened discussion this week to investigate a way to keep water use low, but also help districts with budget issues. Water scarcity and the need to support these organizations are both teaming up to drive up prices.

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) users could potentially see their rates increase 2.4 percent to 5.4 percent annually for five years under a proposal released this Wednesday. In order to keep up with rising power and water costs, LADWP would need to bring up more income – resulting in higher water rates.

This is just the start of the extensive conversation in regards to rates and water usage. This dialogue will need to involve different parties, including customers and feedback from the community. Nonetheless, the scenario is changing and we will have to adapt as it does.

What are your thoughts on this and do you see any immediate solution to the water district income issue?

WE ARE PROUD TO ANNOUNCE

It is with pleasure that we announce we have closed a deal to acquire Enswico Group’s global operations, an industry leader in water conservation products. This acquisition continues our strategic goal to be the leader in providing the most comprehensive water conservation technologies. Falcon’s existing technology has saved an estimated total of 20 billion gallons / 75 billion liters of water over the last ten years.

“The Enswico team is world class and is passionate about the same thing we are—creating the highest caliber water conservation technologies for the commercial restroom,” stated Simon A. Davis, our President and CEO. “By leveraging the strengths of a combined team, we are now able to offer the most comprehensive water technology solutions globally. “We found the perfect match with this deal. The power of Falcon combined with Swiss Environmental Technology (SET) will create many innovative synergies,” said Dr. Michael Wächter, General Manager of Falcon Europe.

We are happy to be taking this step forward and will be sharing more updates in the future. Read more about the acquisition here.

BOMA

We will be at BOMA today and tomorrow! THE BUILDING OWNERS AND MANAGERS ASSOCIATION (BOMA) is a nonprofit organization serving the advocacy, education and networking needs of commercial real estate professionals in the Greater Los Angeles area. We will be joining members such as building owners, private and government building managers, and other commercial real estate providers to learn and engage.

BOMA/GLA is governed by established bylaws and plays an important public role as a leader and public advocate for the industry. As an organization they regulate education programs to enrich all members, engage in government legislative lobbying, support professional designation in property management and provide tools for businesses like us to build networks and relationships that add strength to the community.

Hope to see you there!

STORY OF A RETROFIT: TOROKO METRO STATION

Welcome back to our series of post where we will be showing before and after pictures of some of our installations. Have you ever wanted to know what goes on behind the scenes of a bathroom renovation? Well you have come to the right place. Today we are taking you all the way across the Pacific to Taiwan.

California is not alone when in facing a serious water shortage. Taiwan has been facing one of its worst droughts it has ever experienced as well, and water resource agencies are having ton quickly adapt to this reality. Leaving businesses no choice but to follow along. Retrofitting restrooms is just one of the water-saving choices that are being made in Taiwan.

The Toroko Metro Station is a two-story platform structure that houses both passenger and freight stations. They have chosen to retrofit their restooms to our F4000 waterfree urinals in order to help do their part and cut back on water usage at their facility.

We are always excited to feature what our customers are doing around the world, and this is just one of the examples.

Read the original post from the folks in Falcon Asia here.

LATEST WATER USE REPORT IN LA COUNTY

According to California Department of Water Resources, Californians use an average of 196 gallons of water per capita per day, including all businesses except agriculture. But there are wide differences by community, and the moist coasts uses less water than the arid inland.

See below, water usage in Los Angeles County based on water districts, population and location for the month of April. Where does your city come in?

CALIFORNIA’S WATER CRISIS AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR CRE OWNERS

After years of worry and concern over the lack of rainfall in California, Governor Jerry Brown made a historical announcement this past March. The statement made by Brown, officially recognized the alarming situation the Golden State is facing in regards to the sustainability of its water supply, and is the first mandatory water cut in California.

This is a sign that the drought is not only threatening the multi-billion dollar agricultural industry, but also the livability throughout the state. Not only does the drought have economical consequences, but it also extends through the social and environmental aspect of society. Without a booming agriculture, towns are given into poverty and unemployment rates soar to extreme. These are wages lost. Loss of revenue into the community.The money that supports families and businesses. On the other hand, it also impacts the environment around us. Plants and animals depend on water, just like people. When a drought occurs, their food supply can shrink and their habitat can be damaged. Sometimes the damage is only temporary and their habitat and food supply return to normal when the drought is over. But sometimes drought’s impact on the environment can last a long time, maybe forever. We don’t know what’s ahead of us, so we need to change the way we view our water supply and use it in a respectful and sustainable way.

This extends beyond the agricultural realm and is reaching commercial real estate owners as well. With Brown’s mandatory cuts, landlords will have to make a few changes to the way they manage their water usage. Considerations vary depending on water districts and type of commercial product owned. However, these are a few of the restrictions that landlords will need to address:

Even though, it seems extreme to implement such changes, in such a short amount of time, water districts are offering incentives to help mitigate the costs associated with the retrofitting. Owners will find rebate programs and other incentives to cut costs when it comes to replacing lawns, improving irrigation systems, and upgrading metering systems to monitor water flow more accurately.

We all have roles to play when it comes to living more sustainably. Water usage varies according to regions and the types of players that are involved, nevertheless if we all do our part, that 10, 15, 20 percent can add up to be a whole lot of gallons of water saved. And those gallons may be just what we need.