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Posts tagged ‘benchmarking’

Oct 11

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Salt Lake City Recognizes Business Leadership in Enhancing Energy Efficiency, Reducing Pollution

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 11, 2018

Salt Lake City’s Department of Sustainability is pleased to announce the winners of the 2018 Elevate Buildings Awards, highlighting organizations that have taken action to enhance the energy performance of their buildings. Improved efficiency reduces local air pollution, as well as overall greenhouse gas emissions, making it an important component of the capital city’s work to achieve its Climate Positive goals.

“Area sources, including buildings, are having a significant and growing impact on our airshed,” said Mayor Jackie Biskupski. “But they also have a critical role to play in being part of the solution. The organizations we are highlighting this year through the Elevate Buildings Awards are all examples of community leadership in ‘walking the walk’ to improve air quality year round.”

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that 30 percent of the average commercial building’s energy consumption is wasted through inefficient building operation. That makes energy efficiency the “low-hanging fruit” when it comes to improving air quality and reducing Salt Lake City’s community carbon footprint—a goal made all the more important by the recent release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report showing the urgency of reducing emissions from all sources. Read more

Feb 1

Mayor Biskupski’s State of the City Sustainability Highlights

We’ve accomplished a lot in the last year! From a Cooperation Statement with our electric utility, to a new community garden, to a  mobile farm stand, to the announcement of ambitious climate goals, Salt Lake City has made great strides in 2016. Read on for Sustainability highlights from the Mayor’s State of the City. 

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Feb 3

Salt Lake City Partners with Utilities to Improve Building Energy Efficiency

Last Friday, Salt Lake City was recognized by The White House and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for its efforts to unlock access to energy data for building owners and improve energy efficiency.

Since 2013, Salt Lake City has partnered with both Rocky Mountain Power and Questar to provide whole-building energy data access to building owners through the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Tool. The effort, which is on track for completion in 2017, will ensure effortless energy data management for building owners, providing a complete picture as to building energy use and enabling them to employ more responsive strategies.

“Salt Lake City, Rocky Mountain Power and Questar are working together to help building owners understand how their building is operating and to identify opportunities to improve energy management,” says Vicki Bennett, sustainability director for Salt Lake City. “By automating and streamlining the process, more Salt Lake City building owners will be able to improve energy efficiency – ultimately saving energy, money and emissions.”

Salt Lake City is committed to improving air quality, and buildings play an important role in emissions. The most recent data from the Utah Division of Air Quality show that 39% of existing air pollution comes from area sources (i.e. homes and businesses). This percentage is expected to increase significantly over the next 20 years as vehicles become more efficient, making building energy efficiency efforts more and more important.

Last week, Mayor Jackie Biskupski extended an invitation to leading industry experts to share their ideas and best practices for energy efficiency in buildings, as part of the Elevate Buildings process.

“There is nothing more important than the air we breathe, and working to clear our skies is a top priority of my administration,” says Mayor Biskupksi. “By collaborating with industry experts we will help improve air quality through increased energy efficiency our city’s largest buildings.”

Learn more about Salt Lake City’s efforts to cut energy waste in buildings at SLCgov.com/ProjectSkyline.

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Jan 8

Project Skyline: BOMA Utah Launches Kilowatt Crackdown

SLCgreen applauds Project Skyline partner BOMA Utah on bringing building efficiency awareness to their members statewide.

BOMA Utah, which represents over 50 million square feet of commercial buildings in the state, wants to do its part to support ambitious carbon reduction goals from both the State of Utah and Salt Lake City. BOMA Utah members with portfolios in Salt Lake City are also encouraged to join the Salt Lake City Mayor’s Skyline Challenge.

Read on to learn more about the Kilowatt Crackdown!

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BOMA Utah launches 2015 “Kilowatt Crackdown”

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) of Utah is launching its 2015 Kilowatt Crackdown competition as part of Gov. Gary R. Herbert’s Utah Energy Efficiency & Conservation Plan, as well as Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker’s Project Skyline.

BOMA Utah, which represents over 50 million square feet of commercial buildings in Utah, wants to do its part to support ambitious carbon reduction goals from both the State of Utah and Salt Lake City.

“Utah’s large commercial buildings consume considerable amounts of energy and many could use energy-efficiency upgrades”, said BOMA Utah President Lorrie Ostlind, Senior Portfolio Manager at Commerce Real Estate Solutions. “We’ve assembled a great partnership to create valuable opportunity for Utah’s building owners to save energy, save money and improve their buildings.”

According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, buildings in the United States account for more than 40 percent of total energy consumption and about 72 percent of electricity consumption.  If current trends continue, it is estimated that buildings will be the largest global energy consumers by 2025.

“The Kilowatt Crackdown” competition supports voluntary benchmarking of energy use that is evaluated based on real data and allows us to maintain a leadership position in energy reduction”, said BOMA Utah Vice President Justin Farnsworth, Vice President of Asset Services at Newmark Grubb ACRES.

Participating buildings will benchmark energy performance through ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager Tool and seek to improve their performance over time.

“Prospective tenants demand efficient, environmental-friendly buildings and are willing to pay for it”, said Ostlind.  “Benchmarking for improved performance keeps us competitive in the marketplace, and will help us deliver on our economic development goals to foster the next wave of innovation in sustainable buildings”.

About the Kilowatt Crackdown Competition

Kilowatt Crackdown is the energy-saving competition where “every building wins” and offers participants the following:

  • A promotional package from our valued partners offering various discounts on energy related products and services, including engineering certification for properties that qualify for the ENERGY STAR label – a score of 75 or more.
  • Advertising and recognition of your participation in the contest.
  • Assistance with identifying ECMs through ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager.
  • Technical support and data review of your ENERGY STAR benchmarking profile.
  • Satisfaction from being a leader in the Utah market.

Participants wishing to enter their buildings into the TOBY Awards program can utilize their Energy Star ratings and reports for the International requirements.

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