THE HIGH PERFORMANCE PORTFOLIO:
ENERGY MANAGEMENT CHECKLIST
Do you have an energy management focus in your properties?
When asked this question, most ofce professionals respond with an emphatic Yes. But how does one dene effective energy management? What specic actions represent a comprehensive program, and does this reect your rms efforts? While there is no single approach that applies to all companies, there are some best practices generally acknowledged to give the greatest chance of success. Detailed in The High Performance Portfolio Framework, you may already utilize some of these key strategies, while others may be quite new, or dened a little more explicitly. Use the checklist below in thinking about your current practices, and consider the techniques you currently utilize. Each question examines a specic situation, reecting whether or not a broader energy management strategy is really in use. If the answer is Yes, you are most likely effectively deploying that technique. If No, then this highlights an area to focus on in building your implementation plan:
FRAMEWORK STAGE
QUESTION
NA
COMMENTS & IDEAS
FRAMEWORK REFERENCE
1)
Can your president, CEO, or senior executive identify specic ways your rm is leveraging energy efciency as a means to win business? Name any two properties in your portfolio. Can you identify which uses less energy per square foot? Which has a better NOI? If legislation were passed concerning a carbon cap and trade system, could you explain to your organizations senior management the implications on building operations? Do you have an energy efciency goal or target that can be expressed in a specic number and/or date? Does your building or organizations Web site articulate a stance on high performance buildings?
Examine Mission and Methods, page 11
ASSESS
2)
Collect Utility and Financial Data, page 15
3)
Put your Portfolio in Context, page 16
4)
COMMIT
Dene Targets and Resources Required, page 21
5)
Create and Adopt an Energy Management Policy, page 22
FRAMEWORK STAGE
QUESTION
NA
COMMENTS & IDEAS
FRAMEWORK REFERENCE
6)
Could your human resources professional name the specic individuals responsible for energy performance, at the portfolio and building levels? Hypothetically, if you had two identical properties, one in Phoenix and one in Seattle, could you tell which is operated more efciently? Have you ever surveyed tenants and their leases to identify opportunities to reduce a buildings operating hours? If you could get an operations analysis for a building, do you know who to call, and what to ask for?
Establish an Energy Team, page 25
7)
Benchmark Buildings with Portfolio Manager, page 29
PLAN
8)
Analyze Leases and Tenant Requirements, page 32
9)
Conduct Scoping Studies, page 33
10) If asked, could any member of your energy team list three tasks they are required to complete by the end of this month? 11) Can an employee get a raise, promotion, or other reward by excelling in energy management within your rm - and are they aware of this? 12) Can you get a capital purchase approved even if it doesnt meet a traditional payback period number (e.g. payback must be less than 2 years)?
IMPLEMENT
Create an Implementation Plan, page 35
Establish Performance Incentives, page 40
Rene Purchasing Procedures, page 42
13) If a building owner wanted to see current energy performance gures, could he nd them in your monthly reports? 14) Does your standard leasing template address energy management goals?
Establish Tracking and Reporting Procedures, page 43
Dene a Strategic Leasing Approach, page 45
15) Do building engineers have the authority to veto a tenant improvement plan before signing?
Leverage Tenant Improvement Projects, page 48
FRAMEWORK STAGE
QUESTION
NA
COMMENTS & IDEAS
FRAMEWORK REFERENCE Adopt Energy-related Acquisition and Disposition Criteria, page 50
16) Has your rm ever bought or sold a building based in part on anticipated energy costs?
17) Do you have a systemic plan to tune-up your buildings every 2-5 years?
IMPLEMENT
Schedule Building Tune-ups, page 52
18) Could your on-site facility manager log in to your control system and look up the current status of a heating/cooling zone without calling an outside party? 19) In your most recent new construction project, was the design engineer on contract and able to bill time in the programming and schematic design phases? 20) If someone asked for a reference on a good commissioning contractor, could you provide one? 21) If asked by a stranger why your building is better than another, could you give a compelling, 15second answer? 22) If someone looked up a space listing for one of your properties on CoStar, would he/she learn about high performance?
Enact an Enhanced O&M Plan, page 53
Take an Integrated Design Approach, page 56
Guide and Verify Through Commissioning, page 58
Craft Key Messaging, page 61
Tell the Story, page 65
CAPITALIZE
23) Have you ever explained your energy performance with an appraiser or a banker as part of negotiations for nancing? 24) If asked, could you produce an estimate of the energy and cost savings over the previous year? 25) Have you endorsed or recommended an employee, service provider, or contractor to others in your company or another rm based on their successes in energy performance?
Leverage Results in Market Transactions, page 68
Assess Progress against Stated Targets, page 69
Recognize and Reward Success, page 73
