Today, those who own, lease, and operate buildings are increasingly exploring sustainability improvements that can be implemented at scale. The major drivers for this trend: an increase in data available for understanding building performance, the promise of lower utility bills, and a $1B federal investment to update energy codes and implement building performance standards through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Southface Institute recently launched its BIT Building platform to make building performance data actionable and the associated goals and incentives achievable for office buildings, multifamily housing, quick-service restaurants, convention centers, and many more.
State and local governments use building performance standards for benchmarking to achieve data-driven sustainability goals and address concerns about carbon emissions. For instance, the City of Atlanta has committed to 100% clean energy community-wide by 2035 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 among other goals. The City passed its Commercial Building Energy Efficiency Ordinance (CBEEO) to track progress, requiring buildings over certain size thresholds to share utility data annually. Like similar municipal ordinances across the country, the data is tracked through the EPA’s free ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® platform.
While building performance standards dictate what numbers need to be achieved, Southface’s BIT Building program provides the “how.” BIT Building pulls data from ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and connects it to 16 best practices for sustainable operations and maintenance, like energy and waste auditing, that measurably improve building performance when implemented by facility managers. Because buildings can achieve a GRESB-recognized green building certification by completing BIT’s 16 best practices, many can benefit from green financing and demand from sustainability minded tenants in addition to complying with building performance standards.
Southface is also helping to prepare the workforce of building owners and operators to improve the performance and meet the sustainability goals of their facilities. On May 14, Southface will co-host an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager training with the City of Atlanta’s Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience (Register).
Southface also has three more 16 Best Practices for Sustainable Operations & Maintenance trainings scheduled in 2024, and attendees can earn 3 GBCI continuing education credits (Register). Moving forward, Southface is growing its relationship with Urban Green’s GPRO Operations and Maintenance training program to add to its educational and credentialing opportunities.
BIT Building was developed as a platform for any user to improve the sustainability of any building and earn certification for doing so. With an increase of building performance standards as state and municipal tools to meet sustainable goals, Southface is empowering more building owners, operators, and tenants to move beyond compliance and become beneficiaries of lower utility costs, improved environmental impact, and increased tenant satisfaction. Learn more about BIT Building and get started today.
Article originally published by SaportaReport
