Miller launches green initiative

Matt Miller thinks green building standards are about to become a critical operating question for many industrial companies and he's getting in position to profit from it.

Miller, who spearheads a new green initiative at Sparks-based Miller Industrial Properties, says the recession causes companies to pay even closer attention to the costs of operating industrial buildings costs that often can partially offset by environmentally friendly practices.

The widespread availability of financial incentives for energy conservation measures also generates interest during tight times.

At the same time, he says, the Obama administration's talk about a cap-and-trade system on greenhouse gases threatens to add to the costs of companies that don't pay attention to their environmental footprint.

Miller, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who spent six years as an engineer before joining his father, Tom, in Miller Industrial Properties, takes a two-track approach to the company's green initiative.

First, he provides consultation to clients of the commercial real estate company about the ways they can retrofit existing older buildings to reduce their environmental footprints and cut operating costs.

Those steps may be as simple as retrofitting light fixtures, says Miller, who is an accredited professional in the LEED program overseen by the U.S. Green Building Council. Other buildings may warrant more extensive and expensive efforts to gain certification in the LEED program.

Secondly, Miller works with existing tenants and owners of industrial buildings to provide fee-based consultation on improving energy efficiency.

While skeptics saw much of the flurry of interest in green buildings that began a year ago as marketing-driven "green-washing," Miller said the cost concerns in the current market mean interest in green building is likely to be more deeply rooted.

Tom Miller, the owner of Miller Industrial Properties, says he also sees the green initiative as a way to differentiate his company from competitors who don't offer the service.