SPI-HUD Green Organizational Accreditation is part of the Affordable Green Initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2012. The Sustainable Performance Institute (SPI) recognizes those HUD grantees and affordable housing organizations in achieving portfolio-wide improvements. The vision of this initiative is to enable organizations to institutionalize sustainability and achieve higher levels of performance of the management of their housing portfolios. Accreditation differentiates organizations that seek to implement green building and operational best practices, build capacity of staff, track and measure building performance effectively over time, realize significant improvements in health and energy efficiency, and achieve exemplary cost savings.
Only 24 organizations from across the U.S. were accredited through the pilot. Of those, 17 achieved full accreditation, meaning they have already implemented most or all of the best practices contained in the Accreditation criteria and can document their actions accordingly, while an additional 7 organizations received Provisional Accreditation, meaning they have made commitments to the best practices with the intention of implementing them sometime during the accreditation term.
For The Schochet Companies this accreditation formalizes and supports practices already in place. “It’s validating to know that the direction we’ve been going in since 2009 is now recognized by HUD,” said Ilene Mason of Rethinking Power Management, LLC, who serves as Schochet’s chief advisor in sustainability. Mason adds that participating in the process provided access to additional tools for institutionalizing green practices across the portfolio. These tools are readily available to all organizations interested in improving their operations.
Full accreditation means The Schochet Companies has implemented practices in both management of their housing portfolio and effectiveness of their operations. Richard J. Henken, President of The Schochet Companies was pleased to be one of the 17 companies to earn full accreditation out of the hundreds across the country given the opportunity to participate, making it clear that they are looking forward to sharing their insights with others. “It is a pleasure to be recognized for something we’re already doing, and now we can share the lessons we’ve learned with other organizations.”
About The Schochet Companies
The Schochet Companies is a full service real estate development and management firm founded by Jay R. Schochet in 1973. Since that time, the company has developed, owned and/or managed in excess of 7,000 apartments and over 600,000 square feet of retail and commercial space throughout New England and on the West Coast. Today, The Schochet Companies owns and/or manages over 4,500 apartments and 275,000 square feet of commercial space throughout New England. Headquartered in Boston, MA, the company has regional offices in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maine, and central and western Massachusetts and employs over 160 people.
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