Energy Management Articles
Blog posts tagged with "better buildings"
Case Study: Marriott Infrastructure Resilience & Adaptation (MIRA) Program
The Marriott Infrastructure Resilience and Adaptation (MIRA) Program is tasked with evaluating climate-related risks across the hotelier's global portfolio of nearly 8,600 properties across 139 countries and territories. This case study from Better Buildings explores MIRA's four-step strategy. results achieved, and keys to success.
Building Operators: Grid and Occupant Training
The Northwest Energy Efficiency Council partnered with Northeastern University and Washington State University to expand its Building Operator Certification® (BOC) training. In this case study from Better Buildings, learn how the program is emphasizing grid-interactive efficient buildings and occupant-centric controls with a focus on an entry- and pre-entry-level workforce.
MGM Resorts’ 100-Megawatt Solar Array: Climate Action Through Solar Farming
MGM Resorts International made significant headway on its emissions-based goals through installing a 100-megawatt solar array and other initiatives. In this case study from Better Buildings, dive into how the company's Las Vegas portfolio has so far achieved a 41% emissions reduction since 2019.
Case Study: Daimler Truck North America Plant – Detroit®
Daimler Truck North America Plant in Detroit has achieved its third certification in the U.S. Department of Energy's Superior Energy Performance 50001 (SEP) program. This case study from Better Buildings explores how the plant has continued to use ISO 50001 and SEP 50001 to measure and evaluate energy use and identify additional ways to reduce it.
DOE Recognized 14 Organizations for Excellence in Integrated Lighting
Through the Better Buildings Initiative’s Integrated Lighting Campaign (ILC), the U.S. Department of Energy recognizes the use of advanced lighting by building owners and managers for increased building efficiency and comfort. Read on to learn about the organizations leading the adoption of advanced lighting controls and integrated lighting.
3M Achieves 34 Superior Energy Performance 50001™ Certifications
As a science-based Fortune 500 company, 3M focuses on producing innovative products while prioritizing sustainability as a core value throughout the company. In this column from Better Buildings, learn how 3M integrated the systematic ISO-based “plan-do-check-act” framework into on-site energy management practices, resulting in reduced energy use and costs, expanded employee engagement, and improved insight into energy performance at dozens of sites.
Better Climate Challenge Road Show
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Climate Challenge is here! Hop in the EV and hit the open road with the DOE team. For Season One, energy experts visited Nashville, TN to see how partners Nissan, Chemours, and Whirlpool are working to reduce their emissions by 50% within 10 years. Watch the full series and be sure to scroll through the photo gallery for a peek behind the scenes!
Maloney Properties: Portfolio Management for Emissions Goal Tracking
Maloney Properties manages multifamily housing properties owned by third parties, many of which are subject to emissions reduction goals established by ordinances in the cities of Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. In this column from Better Buildings, explore how the company created an Excel-based tracking tool to monitor changes in site Energy Use Intensity (EUI), ENERGY STAR Score, and compare calculated emissions scores per building to city targets to evaluate compliance.
LBA Realty: A Comprehensive, Building-level Approach to Reducing Energy and Emissions
LBA Realty developed a systematic, multistep approach to reducing energy use and GHG emissions at One Culver, an 8-story mixed-use office property in Los Angeles. In this column from Better Buildings, learn how the company pursued a renewable energy contract, installed window tinting, altered the energy management system, and performed audits to identify retro-commissioning opportunities.
Case Study: Meeting Building Energy Performance Standards at The Westory
Redevelopments to The Westory office building – originally opened in 1906 - expanded its footprint beyond limits set by Washington, D.C.'s Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS). This Better Buildings case study outlines the challenges to reaching this standard, including an ASHRAE energy audit and developing a short- and long-term energy plan.
Sheetz: Green Building Technologies at Herndon, VA Store
Sheetz, Inc. is reducing the company’s environmental impact by adding utility-efficient technologies to new store designs and retrofitting existing stores accordingly. This column from the Better Buildings Solutions Center explores a new facility Sheetz is constructing a new facility in Herndon, VA, which will be the most energy-efficient building in its portfolio.
Connecting Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure to Commercial Buildings
Demand for EV charging at commercial buildings will significantly increase with wider mainstream EV adoption and as businesses return to more normal operations following COVID-19 pandemic disruptions. In the factsheet from Better Buildings and NREL, explore how EV chargers (EVC) can be connected to commercial buildings and the effects that charging will have on the building's electrical distribution system.
Case Study: How Brandywine Implements Social Equity and Carbon Reduction in Their Portfolio
In this case study, IMT and the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Alliance highlight Brandywine Realty Trust, a long-time partner of Green Lease Leaders, and their notable work on incorporating social impact goals into their leasing practices.
Whole Foods Market Reaches, Exceeds Better Buildings Challenge Goal
In 2013, Whole Foods Market became the first grocery partner to join the Better Buildings Challenge, committing to a 20% improvement in energy use intensity by 2023 across its building portfolio of more than 12 million square feet. In this column, learn how Whole Foods Market surpassed that goal two years ahead of schedule, achieving a 21% energy reduction.
Better Buildings Progress Report 2022
The Department of Energy announced $15.3 billion in energy savings through the Better Buildings Initiative, a public-private partnership with more than 900 businesses, state and local governments, utilities, housing authorities, and other organizations across the U.S. In the 2022 Better Buildings Progress Report, members of the initiative share their solutions.
The Multiple Benefits of Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency can save energy and money, but energy-saving projects often yield additional, quantifiable benefits that are frequently omitted from energy efficiency assessments. This blog from the Better Buildings Beat Team uncovers five key areas of additional benefits from energy efficiency.
Ford Motor Company: Dearborn Campus Uses Digital Twin Tool for Energy Plant Management
At Ford’s Dearborn Research and Engineering Campus Central Energy Plant (CEP), the digital twin helps operators and engineers manage energy and operational risks by monitoring the CEP’s energy systems, including the combined heat and power (CHP) system, heat recovery chillers, electric centrifugal chillers, thermal energy storage, and other equipment. This column from the Department of Energy's Better Buildings explores how the design and construction of the CEP ensure that campus building upgrades followed specific sustainability principles.
Low Carbon Technology Strategies for Large Offices
Through Better Buildings, DOE has developed Low Carbon Technology Strategies guidance documents to support you in your journey to reduce carbon emissions in your buildings. This guide for Large Offices includes steps that building owners and operators can implement to achieve smart, healthy and low-carbon large office buildings within their existing building portfolios.
Decarbonizing HVAC and Water Heating in Commercial Buildings
Electrification of building loads presents a significant opportunity to reduce site-level GHG emissions, especially when combined with renewable and zero-carbon electricity resources. This report from Better Buildings focuses on electrification and decarbonization of space heating and water heating loads using electric heat pump systems.
Decarbonizing Kitchens: Opportunities for the Food Service Sector
As the public and private sectors pursue organization-wide goals for reducing GHG emissions, commercial food service kitchens and restaurants face multiple challenges: identifying new opportunities to improve energy efficiency while adhering to changing local and state regulations supporting electrification and decarbonization. This column from Better Buildings shows how operators like The Wendy's Company are finding success with a steady approach.
2021 Better Buildings Progress Report
The 2021 Better Buildings Progress Report outlines the progress and collaboration of Better Buildings partners, which represent more than 30 of the country’s Fortune 100 companies, 12 of the top 25 U.S. employers, 12% of the U.S. manufacturing energy footprint, and 13% of total commercial building space, as well as 17 federal agencies, eight national laboratories, and more than 80 states and local governments.
LBA Realty: Climate Risk Assessment Report and Resiliency Plan
LBA Realty (LBA, a full-service real estate investment and management company with a diverse portfolio of industrial and office properties in major markets throughout the United States, needed to implement an actionable climate risk assessment process to address concerns at a property-specific level. This column from Better Buildings shows how a new process was created to identify, validate, and mitigate confirmed climate risk factors during the acquisition process.
Repurposing the Western Maryland Railway Station
The Western Maryland Railway Station in Cumberland, Maryland, built in 1913, went through various transformations before its current use for offices, a museum, and retail shops. This column from Better Buildings shows how a comprehensive building upgrade resulted in a 21 percent annual energy savings.
Resilience Isn't a Project - It's a Mindset for Better Plants Partners
2020 has been the year of “the pivot” – of looking critically at every part of operations and thinking creatively about new approaches to doing business. In this column from the Better Plants program, learn what General Motors and L'Oreal USA did to adapt to the events of 2020.
DWS: Site-Level Climate Risk and Resiliency Checklist Pilot
DWS' real estate business has been investing in assets for more than 40 years and includes $55.6 billion in assets under management across the globe. This column from Better Buildings explores the company's implementation of a Climate Risk and Resiliency Pilot to assess properties at risk from the impacts of climate change and identify strategies and improvements that would protect occupants, interior systems and equipment, and the physical asset.
IHG'S Green Engage Program
InterContinental Hotels Group, a member of the US Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge, created the IHG Green Engage system, a comprehensive online sustainability management system that allows hotels to track, measure, and report on their carbon footprint and utility consumption.
2020 Better Buildings Progress Report
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced nearly $11 billion in energy-cost savings by more than 950 public and private sector organizations in DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative. The 2020 Better Buildings Progress Report details partners’ progress in advancing energy productivity and highlights the 20 organizations that achieved their energy efficiency goals in the past year.
Hannaford Supermarkets' Brandon, Vermont Showcase Project
Hannaford Supermarkets, operators of more than 180 stores throughout Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, participated in Efficiency Vermont's Deep Retrofit pilot program with the goal of cutting their energy consumption in half. This column from Better Buildings shows how it was done.
Installing Rooftop Solar on a 1960s Multifamily High-Rise Building
The challenge facing the Tower Company was to determine how to install cost-effective rooftop solar on a 1960s high-rise apartment building with an existing structure and near full occupancy. Read this column from Better Buildings to explore the solution and outcome (including a one-year after-tax payback).
Saint-Gobain: Advanced energy monitoring with wireless submetering
Saint-Gobain North America’s current goal in energy monitoring is to gain more granular data on energy usage within its manufacturing sites to accelerate the achievement of its sustainability goals. This column from Better Buildings details the success found by using some less obvious opportunities.
