Commercial, GHG Emissions, Regulation  -  June 12, 2023 - By Better Buildings, U.S. Department of Energy

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 the City of Boston’s Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance (BERDO) and the City of Cambridge’s Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO). Maloney Properties developed a way to track which properties in its management portfolio were at risk of not reaching the emissions reduction goals established by these ordinances.

POLICIES
In addition to tracking the status of each site, the tracking tool helps Maloney Properties operationalize two specific policies that impact operations, energy reduction and reduced emissions. First, the tool will help increase the percentage of renewable electricity purchased for the properties it manages. Second, the tool ensures careful assessment of all capital expense projects to identify additional measures that reduce energy consumption or emissions (e.g. roof insulation, ERV systems, solar photovoltaic systems, weatherization measures, electric domestic hot water systems, upgraded electric services). 

PROCESS
Maloney Properties created an Excel-based tracking tool with specific data required by BERDO and BEUDO, including ENERGY STAR Score, Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI), percent electric use v. percent natural gas use, metric tons of carbon emissions, and a calculated emissions score. All of the data in the tracking tool is based on whole-building data, as required by BERDO and BEUDO.

The tracking tool is color-coded based on percent change in site EUI, change in ENERGY STAR Score, and to demonstrate which properties currently meet or exceed emissions goals and which are not significantly meeting goals.

The emissions score for each property is calculated as follows: (Annual Gas Emissions from ENERGY STAR Report X 1,000)/Property Sq. Ft.= Cubic Metric Tons of Carbon per square foot per year. The emissions scores can now be compared to the city target (BERDO’s target is 4.1), allowing Maloney Properties to determine which properties require the most work to reach the target. The results are color-coded.

For example, Property 8 in the accompanying sample tracking tool, showed a 34% reduction in site EUI from 2016-2021 (column AX is green) and an increase in ENERGY STAR Score (column AY is green). Property 8’s current calculated emissions score is 3.7 (column AP), and based on the current GHG emissions (408, column AU) and the Greenhouse Gas Emissions needed for this property to reach the city’s emissions reduction target (627, column AZ), the property is exceeding the emissions reduction target and columns BA and BB are green.

OUTREACH
Maloney Properties established strong partnerships with Alberio Energy LLC (formerly Taylor CC) and Measurabl (formerly WegoWise by Appfolio).  Alberio purchases much of the energy used at properties in the portfolio, while Measurable tracks usage.  By working with both partners, Maloney Properties has been able to track data, comply with reporting and compliance, and understand the impact of compliance vs. non-compliance with each property it manages. Maloney Properties plans to leverage the partnership and use the tool to educate its ownership groups and generate buy-in

MEASURING SUCCESS
Maloney Properties will measure the success of this approach over time through its ability to view the actual reduction in carbon emissions and tracking compliance with BERDO and BEUDO over time. Before BERDO and BEUDO established carbon emissions reduction goals in 2022, the approach was successful in identifying energy reductions.

In addition, the creation and implementation of a centralized reporting and compliance strategy has saved properties' “soft -costs ” by not having each property manage its own Portfolio Manager account or independently work with outside consultants.  The time required for each property to facilitate the reporting/compliance individually would create an administrative burden increasing staff hours and associate payroll costs. This approach is estimated to save $150-250 per property and 10 hours per site for other management duties.

his column originally appeared as a blog on the Better Buildings website.

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