Currently, over 45% of the US commercial buildi![\"NAA](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2017\/05\/NAA-ROE-300x86.png\")
ng market uses the ENERGY STAR\u00ae, the US EPA\u2019s voluntary certification program designed to measure energy efficiency and improve resource management. At the heart of ENERGY STAR\u00ae lies the ability to track energy usage data to reduce energy consumption and improve building performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all starts with taking a look at what you have and seeing what [information] you\u2019re tracking and what data is available,\u201d Craig Haglund, Program Manager, for the US EPA\u2019s ENERGY STAR program, said in the National Apartment Association\u2019s recent webinar, Financial Success with Energy Benchmarking. With comprehensive data collection and analytics capabilities, US EPA\u2019s Portfolio Manager works in concert with ENERGY STAR for complete resource management oversight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey say \u2018you can\u2019t manage what you can\u2019t measure,’ which is 100% true,\u201d Haglund continued, \u201cbut that misses what you can do with all that data.”<\/p>\n
Whole Building Consumption<\/strong><\/p>\n For building owners and managers interested in tracking their energy, water and waste metrics, ENERGY STAR provides an easy, comprehensive management tool: Portfolio Manager. With Portfolio Manager, building data can be tracked and analyzed. Users can create customized reports and monitor changes in energy, water, greenhouse gas emissions and more.<\/p>\n \u201cPortfolio Manager literally includes hundreds of measurement metrics,\u201d explained Haglund. \u201cStandardized reports can help users assess portfolio performance and share that information or integrate it into other presentations.\u201d<\/p>\n Those measurement metrics can be applied to any sized property portfolio, from one building to, in the case of East Coast real estate services firm Bozzuto Management, 63,000 units spread out over 220 communities and representing 2.1 million square feet of mixed-use development.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been using Portfolio Manager since 2012,\u201d said Bozzuto\u2019s Director of Sustainability, Peter Zadoretzky. \u201cOver the last couple of years, we\u2019ve gone from a messy, decentralized benchmarking platform to having nearly our entire portfolio in the program.\u201d<\/p>\n For Zadoretzky, one key benefit of Portfolio Manager\u2019s capabilities lies in the ability to work with third-party billing providers so that property manager and their staff aren\u2019t spending time inputting information for thousands of individual tenant accounts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe realized reading energy bills and putting information into an online platform on a monthly basis was not our team\u2019s core competency,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe really wanted to let them do their job and focus on what they do best, managing our properties and interacting with our residents.\u201d<\/p>\n Zadoretzky also pointed out how using a consolidated database for energy billing allows Bozzuto to improve operational oversite, saying, \u201cPortfolio Manager makes it possible to see what\u2019s happening portfolio-wide.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cObviously we are using Portfolio Manager to identify opportunities for improvement as well as highlight what is and isn\u2019t working,\u201d he continued. \u201cOur third party partners provide a platform that is the eyes and ears behind our efforts, allowing us to see what\u2019s happening and catching things that property managers miss and act quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe more we dig in and use Portfolio Manager, the more we learn about ourselves and our communities,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s helping us get better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n Becoming an Energy \u201cStar\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n One core function of Portfolio Manager involves providing benchmarking information for use in determining a building\u2019s ENERGY STAR score. Not only are more and more municipalities and government agencies requiring benchmarking in the commercial and multi-housing space, but ENERGY STAR ratings also provide an incentive to improve resource management and reduce waste.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not only about the \u2018why,’\u201d says Zadoretzky, \u201cbut articulating the \u2018how,\u2019 so we can align our sustainability goals with our client\u2019s objectives and our resident\u2019s and prospects expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n That \u2018how\u201d is made easy with Portfolio Manager\u2019s measurement metrics and extensive recordkeeping capabilities. Zadoretzky and his teams discovered tracking energy use allows the company to gauge the viability of their sustainability efforts and promote their successes.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2016 we really put a microscope on how we were doing and discovered we had a 4% energy reduction compared to the previous calendar year,\u201d detailed Zadoretzky. \u201cWe were excited about this [result] because it allowed us to articulate our savings and illustrate value on our portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReports are straightforward and easy,\u201d agreed Elizabeth Merzigian,<\/strong> a Facilities Manager with Peabody Properties. \u201cWorking with our parent company, Portfolio Manager offers a global look by linking all of our accounts so that our third-party partner can organize the data and get a big picture of what is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRaw data is great,\u201d she added, \u201cbut the visual graphs that Portfolio Manager creates really get it to the point where you can convey energy consumption and savings [in a way] that you can see significant strides.\u201d<\/p>\n Celebrating Success<\/strong><\/p>\n At Bozzuto, benchmarking data and ENERGY STAR scores provide an opportunity to promote the company\u2019s efforts not just amongst staff and business partners, but with residents and prospects as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe see benchmarking as a competitive advantage,\u201d Zadoretzky admitted. \u201cWe highlight our ENERGY STAR scores in all of our materials, from RFDs to pitches, as well as throughout the development process.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hearing rumblings of ENERGY STAR scores showing up on Yelp reviews and apartment websites, and we\u2019re making sure to promote our properties with ENERGY STAR certification,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBozzuto has been known for a long time for our customer service,\u201d he concluded. \u201cWe are working hard to elevate our building performance to that same level by taking advantage of the marketing opportunities available with benchmarking and ENERGY STAR.\u201d<\/p>\n Learn more about the Yardi Smart Energy Suite<\/a>, including utility invoice processing and ENERGY STAR benchmarking services.<\/p>\n