Don't Overlook the Small Steps On the Way to Big Energy Savings

At a certain point, practices that start out as niceties become necessities, either through government mandate or economic realities. Today, companies often think of making their buildings energy efficient as a good long-term goal that will be gotten around to when there's time and money to make the necessary changes. But in the face of rising energy costs, increasing public interest in global warming and the potential for new state and federal regulations, more real estate managers are beginning to see that the right time is now, the benefits are large and the investment is actually small.

In a survey that formed the basis for the "Energy Challenge: A New Agenda for Corporate Real Estate," a report recently released by CoreNet Global and the Rocky Mountain Institute, nearly every executive picked "important" or "most important" to describe the significance of energy efficiency (94%) and sustainability (83%) among all issues affecting corporate real estate. Unfortunately, the same report found that fewer than half of participants have energy policies or consumption targets in place, and less than a third of the firms surveyed are working on finding no-cost and low-cost ways to lower energy consumption.

Nonetheless, there are companies that are making progress. More importantly, they are sharing their success stories as models that others can emulate.

For several years, Oracle has been focusing on finding low-cost and no-cost measures that would save energy. At one Virginia facility, an employee studied energy-use data and identified the following three actions: optimize the schedule for starting and shutting off systems for the building, in particular eliminating the entry of outside air during startup; adjust the HVAC schedule so that the heating and air conditioning were no longer working 24/7; and adjust lighting through removing some bulbs, changing schedules for automatic lights and adjusting motion sensors.

Investment: zero, besides the employee's time. Return: $51,000 in energy savings in the first eight months of 2006.

JohnsonDiversey is another example of an international company that believes in keeping its eye on the small details even as it stays focused on the big picture. In 1997, the company moved into its new global headquarters in Racine, WI, which featured a variety of energy-efficiency measures. The building uses 60% less energy than similar assets without the energy-efficiency features.

But JohnsonDiversey wasn't interested in stopping there. The company invited the local utility to come in and conduct an energy analysis in 2004. The utility came up with 32 cost-saving ideas, including 20 that could be subsidized by utility and state energy efficiency programs. (For more information about available subsidies and rebates, see the Database for State Incentives for Renewable Energy at www.dsireusa.org.)

In addition, JohnsonDiversey's ongoing internal energy management program scored some simple wins: when they organized team cleaning, one floor of the facility was able to go dark six hours before the others. Reducing water usage also yielded energy savings, and the building renovations met the criteria for LEED Existing Building certification.

Sometimes energy efficiency is achieved as part of other processes, but only when companies keep their interest in plain sight. For example, when Toyota went searching for 25,000 sf of office space in Washington, DC, the company included an environmental impact qualification in the request for proposals. Toyota wanted to see indoor air quality addressed and energy efficiency measures based on the LEED rating system. It also included provisions within the lease for the right to sub-meter the space, purchase green power, use low-VOC-emitting materials during tenant improvement buildout and implement a recycling program.

These three firms are all leaders in the journey toward a more energy-efficient future, but it won't be long before others fall in behind them. The dangers are too great to ignore, among them the reality of rising energy costs and the potential for government to take control if corporations don't act first. But more importantly, the benefits are tangible.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not Real Estate Media or its publications.