On Dec 16th, 2013, GAPScore, Inc. responded to the General Services Administrations RFI on climate change risk management innovations in the market place. We are a federal vendor and are pleased to cooperate with the government to reduce the effects of carbon in the environment, health of the general public, and reduce the effects of climate change through preparedness. Here is a copy of the full response.
Response
Form for GSA RFI XZ003-XZ988-3
1.
Organization
Name and Address:
GAPScore,
Inc.
831
N. Marion St.
Oak
Park, IL 60302
2.
Point of Contact (name, phone # and email
address):
Steve
Pohlman
708-825-5104
cellular
708-383-2427
office
gapscoreinfo@gmail.com
3.
Business Size (if a company/contractor, must
select one):
›
Small (Small Business Size Standard: $14.0 million/year
annual average gross revenue for your last three fiscal years)
4.
If you selected “Small” in question 3, please
indicate if your company is also one of the following small business types:
›
8(a) Certified Small Business (FAR Subpart
19.8) Certification is being applied for with assistance from SBA.
5.
Does your organization currently hold a GSA
Federal Supply Schedule Contract?
›
No
9. Climate
Risk Management
Describe your typical protocol or process for
providing decision support to federal agencies.
How will this method apply to decisions related to climate change
impacts to federal agencies mission, operations, facilities, or affected
communities? Cite two specific examples (with references) where your protocol
or process was applied to support Federal, State, regional, or local risk
assessments.
GAPScore Response
Describe
your typical protocol or process for providing decision support to federal
agencies.
GAPScore, Inc. is in the process development stage of providing
a custom process and procedure to accumulate and disseminate data for
decision making processes. A typical
process for acquiring data on properties is during the inspection or
recording service periods that the federal, state or local government already
performs. An inspector or home owner
is provided a 30 minute training session to apply the GAPScore test data
information correctly, the data is confirmed as correct and listed on the GAPScore.com
site. This data may be made available
to the federal government for prioritizing, dissemination, and decision
making processes through contract.
|
|
GAPScore Response
How
will this method apply to decisions related to climate change impacts to
federal agencies mission, operations, facilities, or affected communities?
Climate Change
Impacts: More
than 300 million single family properties exist in the United States, over 30
million are held by the federal government in one way or the other. HUD and FHA control almost 10% of all SFR
in the country. Just reducing the
impacts from housing held by the government 50% can reduce 5% of the
greenhouse gases emitted by residential properties annually. Changes in Single Family Housing can only
be addressed by the home owner or those who hold the mortgage, lean, or deed.
Positive directives through public
awareness can only make home owners change.
GAPScore addresses a multiple front of climate change impacts. By using accepted existing industry
standard housing design techniques and upgrading as a part of the existing
market system influences, GAPScore entices homeowners, lenders, and landlords
to implement cost in energy savings and healthier sustainable buildings thus
reducing climate change gases while increasing good responsible water, air,
solar, energy and land use leading to overall sustainability.
Federal Agencies
Mission: “We
have to know where we are before we can get there”
EPA, HUD, FHA, GSA, and every municipality across the country
has a mission, get greener. In each
city nearly half of the energy consumed is for residential. Yet all of the 1% of green home
certifications and energy audits have made little difference to motivate or
influence the other 99% or the “not yet tested” of the existing housing
market. Many homes have been upgraded
and all fail to be recorded or even recognized in the market place.
GAPScore provides a platform for those that have made green
improvements. It acts as a snapshot of
the housing market that is constantly changing and upgrading. We can view market trends and changes in national,
regional and local habits as well as increased production through comparison
data.
Affected Areas of
Agencies:
Basically, every governmental entity that procures, develops, or
maintains a residential property is affected and has the mission to provide
more energy and environmentally efficient living quarters.
Operations: Fits in the existing
system and easy to implement
The inspection process happens often during transitional periods
in the life of a single family property or multi-unit residential
property. Operations of governmental
entities vary across the supply chain.
Therefore, GAPScore is working to ease the process of integration of
operations and the distribution of data.
Facilities: Effective Data equals
good decision making
As climate change creates the need for adaptation, so shall the
facilities to adapt to the climate changes in each region and predict
purchasing requirements, adjusted budgets, and adequate supply chain channels
for areas most in need which GAPScore test data can highlight for
prioritizing project management to residential facilities.
Affected Communities: We are all in this
together…..
How would your community use GAPScore?
|
Describe your process for conducting risk analyses to prioritize
activities.
GAPScore Response
The GAPScore process
for conducting risk analysis is being developed through the requests and
demands of its customers/users. Each
report that can be generated through GAPScore data is produced on a specific
as need basis by request only.
|
How will this process translate to climate change adaptation and
provide linkages between physical/logistical context and
social/economic/behavioral adaptive capabilities?
GAPScore Response
By being able to view
comparative analysis, the government can use existing climate data to
correlate trends and specific needs of the housing under which it
services. The needs of those
residences are prioritized and turned into actionable items.
For example: A division of housing was built in 1948 and
is home to 1,000 active duty personnel and their families. Since these homes are on government
property and the tenancy rates are short term with high turnover, the
occupants don’t really take ownership and provide the building with the
needed upgrades to become more sustainable or environmentally efficient. Instead they utilize smaller air
conditioners and heaters that eventually travel away. Human behavior aroused by necessity caused
an economic upturn in the area for A/C window units and space heaters but
does allow for energy efficiency and comfort.
As upgrades are funded for “greener” options through building upgrades
from the property management services, the energy efficiency and sustainability
of the structure increases. The more
comfortable the tenant feels in their home, the more productive they become
at work. Tenant and property
management requests are reactive in nature and a proactive state can be
instituted through social communication and directional advice.
Example #2: A division of housing was built in 1948 and
is home to 1,000 active duty personnel and their families. Since the property management of these
homes have been making steady upgrades to better the energy efficiency of
each of the structures as tenants move out.
Because of budget constraints, material availability and management
changes that have happened, the properties have been upgraded unevenly
throughout the past 20 years with only purchase orders to record the
transaction without a location of the upgrade. The need to evaluate each property becomes
apparent.
In each of these
examples the physical/logistical is dictated by the social/behavioral
adaptations made by the tenant’s requests.
Social behavior and adaptation are the catalysts to economic
development and surges in the market.
Demand creates the need for supply.
As climate change happens through regions, the reactive demands will
be for stronger and more secure housing with comfort at a tolerable level. By taking a proactive stance to adapt to
climate changes predicted throughout the models that have not arisen, the
social behavioral adaptations will continue to push the economy in areas that
further sustainability, health, and conservation of land resources.
|
Cite two specific examples (with references) where your protocol
or process avoided cost to the owner or stakeholder of critical infrastructure
or systems.
GAPScore Response
It is difficult to
quote a specific case as to the cost avoidance power of the GAPScore
data. The amount of people and
businesses that utilize the GAPScore will need to increase and those will
have to implement the advice and we have to wait to determine the exact
amount of money saved over time. The
GAPScore test concentrates on specific areas for the home owner and municipalities.
Exaple #1. Question from GAPScore; “Do the downspouts
go to the sewer?” Municipal storm
water and sewage run-off systems are saved from over taxing and saves the
city, county, and state tax payer money.
The natural river system is preserved and water tables are replenished
saving ecosystems.
Example #2. Question from GAPScore, “Is there an Energy
Star furnace?” Every home owner sees a
performance increase and cost savings. With correctly installed high efficiency
furnace and Energy Star water heater, the case for CO2 poisoning from back
drafting becomes almost nonexistent.
Health and well fair cost savings are really arbitrary at best, but a
hypothesis would say that science is right.
There are 77 questions
that are on the GAPScore test. The
evaluation of air, water, land, solar, energy, and sustainability combined
with the tenants knowledge of the benefits reaches far beyond the home owner
for overall cost savings.
|
10. For those services you have addressed in your
response to Question 9, please use the following template to provide specific
information about three representative completed or in-progress contracts you
have completed or started during the past three years. For each contract template completed, please
also provide a copy of the work statement.
GAPScore Response
Due to the newness of our online service,
no contracts have been finalized yet.
Points of Success:
The US Green Building Council added
GAPScore to the Illinois Chapters Affiliate Vendor Promotion to local chapter
members in 2012.
See Katy Kaluzy – Interim Director USGBC
Illinois Chapter
The National Assoc. of Realtors has a link
to the www.gapscore.com site for reference
on the Green Resource Councils web site for “greening the MLS” www.greenthemls.org
See Kristen Short – Director Green Resource
Council, NAR Chicago
|
Provide any additional comments or observations
about this RFI and the types of climate change adaptation services being sought
by GSA (add additional pages as necessary).
Here are some guidelines for this open-ended portion of your response:
INCLUDE:
·
Comments that address the Government’s requirements,
assumptions, conditions, or contemplated approaches.
GAPScore Response
The “Green Button”
can benefit from the use of GAPScore in so many ways. We honor Kevin Powell for his work in GSA
and his input through blog postings, reports and email.
GAPScore is ready
to put in place and to provide a multi-unit test and condo-unit test to the
general public once our development stages are reached.
|
Information and suggestions that may
encourage new, different or innovative approaches that would result in cost
savings to the Government.
GAPScore Response
Educate the tenants of housing to promote stewardship
and foster the feeling of ownership.
|
