The Top 10 Solutions from November feature a wide range of sustainability best practices. They include a unique water-saving Implementation Model from a leading university, a video showcasing opportunities for clean energy in commercial real estate properties, energy-saving contracts and more. If you thought there was a lot to be thankful for in the Top 10 Solutions from October, November will not disappoint!
1. The Business Case for High-Performance Buildings
This video explains how once-niche green concepts are evolving into high-performance standards across office, retail, and industrial buildings. See how leading Commercial Real Estate property owners incorporate energy efficiency and broader sustainability elements into their operational and investment decisions. Read more.
2. Water Hub Implementation Model
Emory University’s WaterHub project aims to treat and reuse up to 400,000 gallons of water per day and reduce potable water demand by more than 33 percent. Over the last decade, sustainable water management has become a critical issue for the metro-Atlanta region, which has struggled with drought and legal disputes over water supply. Read more.
3. Implement Energy Management Information Systems (EMIS) in your building portfolio
Energy management Information Systems (EMIS) are a relatively new technology based on the old adage "you can't manage what you don’t measure." EMIS gives property owners and managers the ability to see their energy use and take action to reduce waste. This toolkit outlines a starting point. Read more.
4. Power Purchase Agreement for the D.C. Department of General Services
The District of Columbia Department of General Services utilized SolSystem’s clean-energy financing to create 140 jobs and save D.C. taxpayers $25 million through a large-scale solar power project. The project, which started in 2015 and wrapped up in July 2017, is expected to produce 13,800 MWh annually. Read more about how this partnership between D.C. and SolSystems impacted the nation’s capital. Read more.
5. Outdoor Lighting Accelerator Toolkit
Our Outdoor Lighting Accelerator works to help state and local governments move closer toward a clean-energy economy using high-performance technologies that reduce the cost of an essential public service – street lighting. Learn how LED lighting upgrades to outdoor lighting infrastructure can have a big impact on your local economy. Read more.
6. Developing an Energy Management Policy through Public-Private Partnership
Legacy Health enrolled in Energy Trust of Oregon’s commercial Strategic Energy Management (SEM) Initiative for assistance in establishing a culture around energy savings at its facilities. This initiative is one of the offerings Energy Trust provides to all commercial customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas, and Avista looking to save money on energy bills. Learn how a Strategic Energy Management program might help your organization save. Read more.
7. General Motor’s Energy Performance Contracting
General Motors uses an Energy Performance Contracting model to save on energy costs at its plants, which is unusual since data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory confirms the commercial and industrial sectors accounted for only 8 percent of ESCO industry revenues in 2011. Over the past several years GM has doubled the amount of money directed towards energy conservation, from $40 million to $80 million, using EPC methods. Read more.
8. Tenant Engagement Focus Groups
Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge (ABBC) is a nation-leading, public-private initiative to reduce energy and water consumption by at least 20 percent in more than 114 million square feet of participating buildings across Atlanta by 2020. Since many of these buildings are not owner-occupied, there isn’t always a direct incentive for building tenants or owners to improve energy efficiency. In 2016, ABBC convened a focus group of both building owners and tenants around the topic of engaging occupants in energy-efficiency efforts, and the insights gleaned helped drive improved efficiency practices across the city. Read more.
9. Celanese’s Energy Dashboards
Celanese aims to drive energy efficiency and cost reduction in its plants by engaging the entire organization on sustainable energy practices. Celanese created Energy Dashboards to provide operators with access to real-time energy consumption and dynamic energy target information, giving them effective knowledge and tools to reduce energy consumption. Read more.
10. Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program
In order to facilitate energy-efficiency improvements of commercial and industrial buildings in its jurisdiction, the City of Milwaukee implemented a property assessed clean energy (PACE) program which allows building owners to repay loans for clean-energy improvements over time through a special assessment on their property tax bill attached to the property, not the owner. Read more.