All retail businesses are faced with rising utility costs. What can be done to ease the pain while still keeping your tenants happy and productive? Here are six steps to reduce your building’s environmental impact and operational expenses and increase available strategic dollars.

Step 1: Get Fired Up

The first thing to do, and perhaps the most important, is to get fired up. Before any measures can be taken, building owners, managers and tenants need to be motivated to get an energy project off the ground. This requires open and frequent communication between property management, building engineers, building owners and tenants. Green meetings can be held to discuss everyone’s motivating factors: available budgetary dollars, environmental benefits, financial benefits, marketing impacts, rental rates and occupancy.

Step 2: Benchmarking

It is important to establish your building’s (and your portfolio’s) energy profile. The energy profile comes from analyzing the past two years of utility bills as well as your building’s vital information (age, rentable square footage, occupancy history). Things like kWh rates, utility contracts and peak demands are all part of the equation and are unique to your building. Possible Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) can be discussed at this point in the process. This profile allows you to benchmark your building and compare it to other similar properties in the area. How does your property compare?

Step 3: The Audit

A comprehensive analysis of your property requires the expertise of an energy engineer, energy services company or a Certified Energy Manager (CEM). This step may require several days of building walk-throughs to identify mechanical and electrical equipment responsible for high energy consumption as well as the feasibility of implementing energy conservation measures. This is where you can start compiling monetary savings and paybacks through acceptable use of these conversation measurers. Typical simple payback for energy projects range from two to five years. Some simple measures, such as lighting retrofits, can see payback immediately.

John Gardner

Step 4: Creating a Plan

Once a series of energy conservation measures has been established and an estimated payback period is set, it is time for project planning. Collaboration and good communication between property management, building engineers and the various mechanical, electrical and energy management contractors is essential to realize the full effects of your energy project. It is very important to develop a plan to continually monitor progress and confirm objectives are met on an ongoing basis. This creates a sense of ownership for the project, increasing responsibility and motivation.

Step 5: Implementation

Energy savings realized from day one of the implementation of the chosen energy efficiency measures should be annualized through continued review of utility usage on a month-to-month basis. Operations and maintenance procedures can and should be adjusted to your facility over time as your business and goals evolve. Through proper maintenance, your energy management can become as dynamic as your employees and tenants.

Step 6: Assess and Adjust

Once the plan has been implemented, it’s time to review and determine what, if any, areas need tweaking. If the building has been deemed energy efficient, you should start to see payback from the changes. But now’s not the time to relax. Further cost-saving measures can be had. For example, it may be practical to add some form of renewable energy like a solar photovoltaic system. Depending on the local rebates, renewable energy credits and the federal tax credits, the system would provide additional utility savings and an excellent return on investment.

The leading edge of energy efficiency doesn’t necessarily mean being LEED certified. The audit procedure followed by the energy efficiency measures not only decrease the cost of running the business but also provide a more comfortable environment to work and shop. It will also set you and your business apart as true environmental stewards and leaders in the community.