Last updated
Last updated
Tracking energy performance across a portfolio is crucial for identifying inefficiencies while reducing operating costs and environmental impacts. It is important to track energy use, Energy Use Intensity (EUI), and renewable energy generation and/or procurement on an ongoing basis to manage energy-related risks. These risks include those posed by Building Performance Standards (BPS) and the potential non-compliance fines local governments levy with them, and higher operating costs as utility rates and rate structures change to align with a greener grid. Real estate investors require transparent disclosure of energy consumption that demonstrates active management of energy reduction goals. Additionally, tenant demand for green buildings continues to lead to higher occupancy rates and rental premiums for assets with energy-efficient designs.
Investing in energy consumption tracking and actively managing reduction goals across the portfolio allows organizations to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. Expanding data collection and asset energy management activities from individual facility managers and building operators to asset-level and portfolio-level champions is also key to addressing energy reduction targets at a strategic level.
Three performance metrics are available in the “Energy” category:
To improve energy performance across portfolios while reducing the environmental and economic harms associated with excessive energy use.
Total Energy Use
Total site energy consumed across all properties within the portfolio over a specific period. This includes energy use from all sources (e.g., electricity, natural gas, renewables, etc.).
Energy Use Intensity (EUI)
Total Site Energy Use per unit area across a portfolio for a specific period.
Total Energy Use
Kilowatt-hours (kWh), Mega-watthours (MWh), British thermal units (kBTUs or MBTUs), or joules (MJ or GJ).
Energy Use Intensity (EUI)
Expressed in units of energy use (e.g., kWh, MBTUs, GJ) per unit of floor area (e.g., m2, sq ft, etc.).
Total Energy Use
Performance Approach A (absolute performance): Verification of Total Site Energy Use across the defined portfolio for the reporting year.
Performance Approach B (performance change): Verification of the change in Total Site Energy Use from a baseline year across the defined portfolio.
Energy Use Intensity
Performance Approach A (absolute performance): Verification of Site Energy Use Intensity across the defined portfolio for the reporting year.
Performance Approach B (performance change): Verification of the change in Site Energy Use Intensity from a baseline year across the defined portfolio.
Total Energy Use
Provide Total Site Energy Use for all properties in the defined portfolio for the reporting period (Performance Approach A) and the reporting year and a baseline year (Performance Approach B).
Include energy use from all sources (e.g., electricity, on-site renewable energy, natural gas, chilled water, steam, fuel oil, propane, etc.) across the portfolio.
Properties in the portfolio may have permanently installed energy meters and/or submeters that measure total building energy consumption for each energy source. Utility-owned meters capable of aggregating total property energy use by energy source is acceptable.
Delivered fuels (e.g., propane, oil, or diesel, etc.) must be tracked and reported by delivery date and amount if they are not metered or sub-metered. Meters must be calibrated within the manufacturer’s recommended interval if the project owner, management organization or tenant owns the meter. Meters owned by third parties (e.g., utilities or governments) are exempt.
Estimations of Total Energy Use for a property can be used if data is unavailable or considered unreliable. In such cases, no more than 5% of the total portfolio’s energy consumption may be estimated within a single reporting year of 12 contiguous months. For any property-level meter estimated to use more than 15% of a property’s reported energy consumption, no more than three months within a single reporting year of 12 contiguous months can be estimated within a property’s reported energy consumption.
Energy Use Intensity
In addition to the requirements noted above, provide the total gross floor area excluding parking of the portfolio for the reporting year (Performance Approach A) and the reporting year and a baseline year (Performance Approach B).
Portfolio-Level Documentation:
Policies: Provide documentation (e.g., policies, narratives, reports, letter from CEO, etc.) indicating the organizations’ commitment to energy consumption reduction including specific targets and goals set.
Methodology: Provide documentation that summarizes the methodology used to calculate the energy use and/or energy use intensity, including:
Specific frameworks, standards or tools used in the process.
Estimations, normalizations, exclusions or assumptions made.
Descriptions of procedures and systems used to collect and document energy use data.
Descriptions of quality control procedures applied (e.g., internal audits, comparison with last year’s data, recalculation by second person, etc.)
For Performance Approach B only: Provide documentation that summarizes the baseline year, including:
Reporting period for the baseline year.
Methods for determining the selected baseline year.
Letter of attestation from senior/executive leadership or the individual/entity calculating the energy use confirming that the baseline year data was calculated in a similar manner as the reporting year OR third-party verification of baseline year data. If baseline year data was previously verified by GBCI, this evidence is not required.
Plans and Actions: If applicable, provide documentation describing plans the organization has in place that assisted in achieving the target and actions/strategies implemented to achieve energy use reductions. If applicable, include a list of energy conservation measures (ECMs) that were implemented, the amount of energy saved by each implemented measure, and any forward-looking plans or strategies to continue reducing energy use.
Property-Level Documentation:
Property-Level Data: Provide total annual site energy use data by energy source for every property in the portfolio for the reporting year (Performance Approach A) and reporting year and baseline year (Performance Approach B) utilizing the PERFORM Property-Level Data Spreadsheet provided. For EUI, provide gross floor area for every property. Alternative documentation (e.g., spreadsheets prepared for internal tracking or other reporting entities like GRESB, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, etc.) may be provided if it includes the same information as required in the PERFORM Property-Level Data Form.
Property-Level Sample Documents: Provide the following documentation for a sample of SQRT(n) properties, where ‘n’ is the total number of properties in the portfolio. A list of the properties selected for sampling will be provided during the portfolio creation process via the Multiple Property Upload Template.
Monthly Energy Consumption: Provide monthly energy consumption per energy source. Electricity from the grid must be reported separately from renewable electricity generated on-site. For non-metered delivered fuels (e.g., propane, oil, etc.), report delivered quantities by delivery date.
Utility Invoices: Provide utility invoices for all fuels with consumption values and dates highlighted. Alternately, confirm the utility data or calibrated meter data was directly imported from the utility. Internal meter reading logs may be provided in place of utility invoices when the latter are not available, but documentation should be provided to explain the circumstances (e.g., the property does not have utility meters and energy consumption is measured with building-owned meters, etc.)
Site Energy Use Intensity:
Site Energy Use Intensity is calculated by dividing the total site energy use by the total gross floor area of the portfolio excluding parking.
TSEU = Total site energy use GFAP = Gross floor area of portfolio excluding parking
Performance Change:
Performance change between the reporting year and a baseline year is calculated for this metric using the percentage change formula:
RY = Reporting Year Value BY = Baseline Year Value
Baseline Year: A specific year (12-month period) used to track changes in performance over time (Source: ENERGY STAR and GHG Protocol).
Total Site Energy: Total Site Energy use for a portfolio refers to the sum of all energy consumed across all properties in the portfolio over the reporting period. Site energy includes all energy consumed on the customer side of the utility meter including energy purchased from the grid and renewable energy produced and used on-site.
Total Energy: Total energy consumed across all properties within the portfolio over a specific period. This includes energy use from all sources (e.g., electricity, on-site renewable energy, natural gas, chilled water, steam, fuel oil, propane, etc.).
Energy Use Intensity (EUI): Total Energy Use per unit area across the portfolio for a specific period.
To reduce the environmental and economic harms associated with fossil fuel energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the supply of renewable energy projects and foster a just transition to a green economy.
Renewable Energy Use
Total energy from renewable sources used by properties in the portfolio for a specific period.
Renewable Energy Use
Kkilowatt-hours (kWh), Mega-watthours (MWh), British thermal units (KBTUs or MBTUs), or joules (MJ or GJ).
Percent Renewable Energy
Total renewable energy use by the portfolio as a proportion of total site energy use.
Performance Approach A (absolute performance): Verification of Total Renewable Energy Use or Percent Renewable Energy across the defined portfolio for the reporting year
Performance Approach B (performance change): Verification of change in Total Renewable Energy Use or Percent Renewable Energy for the defined portfolio from a baseline year.
Provide the total energy sourced from renewable sources for the portfolio for the reporting year (Performance Approach A) and for the reporting year and a baseline year (Performance Approach B).
If Percent Renewable Energy is being tracked and verified, provide the total site energy use for the reporting year (Performance approach A) and for baseline year and reporting year (Performance approach B) in addition to the above requirements.
Renewable energy sources can include on-site renewable electricity, off-site green power procurement and renewable thermal certificates. Renewable energy from standard grid-supplied electricity or district energy do not count toward the renewable energy amount.
Qualifying Renewable Energy Classifications:
Tier 1: On-site renewable energy generation or equity project The renewable generation equipment may be located on a property or a contiguous campus on which a property is located. Alternately, a site of an equity project is acceptable if the renewable power system is provided, installed, and commissioned at no cost to the equity entity and the ownership of the renewable power system is transferred to the equity entity. In all cases, the rights and renewable energy certificates (RECs) to the power provided must be retained and retired by the owner.
Tier 2: New off-site renewable electricity Off-site renewable electricity produced by new generation asset(s). At the time of the initial contract date, all renewable assets must have a commercial operation date (COD) of less than or equal to five years. All RECs must be retained and retired by the owner. Tier 2 renewable energy primarily consists of wind or solar PV, however, any new renewable asset in the property’s country or region that meets the Green-e® Framework for Renewable Energy’s criteria for “renewable energy product types” also qualifies. Tier 2 renewable assets must be in the same country or region where the property is located.
Tier 3: Off-site renewable energy Off-site renewable electricity that is Green-e® Energy certified or equivalent, and Renewable Fuels that are Green-e® certified or equivalent. All RECs must be retained and retired by the owner. Renewable energy procurement must meet at least one of the following:
The requirements of ASHRAE Standard 228 Sections 8.3 to 8.5.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Greenpower Partnership guidelines or equivalent.
Green-e®-certified and surplus to regulation (if 100% green power product).
LEED v4.1 or later: Tier 2 or Tier 3 renewable power.
Climate Group RE-100 technical criteria.
Sections 4.2.4 to 4.2.7 of US White House’s “Implementing Instructions for Executive Order 14057”
Other qualifying renewable energy standards: Green-e® Renewable Energy Standard, EKOenergy, Gold Standard, Guarantees of Origin (GoOs), I-REC(E) standard, T-RECs (in Taiwan), Green Electricity Certificates (GECs) in China, J-Credits and Green Electricity Certificates (in Japan), Tradable Instruments for Global Renewables (TIGRs).
Any proportion of district energy systems meeting the national definition of renewable energy for the property location may be counted towards the total renewable energy contribution. For example, if the national policy identifies deep lake cooling and district heating generation from wood fuels as renewable energy, the proportion of district energy generated from these sources is also classified as renewable energy in this determination.
Portfolio-Level Documentation:
Policies: Provide documentation (such as policies, narratives, reports, letter from CEO etc.) indicating the participating organizations’ commitment to renewable energy use in its portfolio including any specific targets and goals.
Methodology: Provide documentation that summarizes the methodology used to calculate the renewable energy use, including:
Specific frameworks, standards or tools used in the process.
Estimations, exclusions or assumptions made.
Descriptions of procedures and systems used to collect and document data.
Descriptions of quality control procedures applied (e.g., internal audits, comparison with last year’s data, recalculation by second person, etc.)
For Performance Approach B only: Provide documentation that summarizes the baseline year, including:
Reporting period for the baseline year.
Methods for determining the selected baseline year.
Letter of attestation from senior/executive leadership or the individual/entity calculating the renewable energy use confirming that the baseline year data was calculated in a similar manner as the reporting year OR third-party verification of baseline year data. If baseline year data was previously verified by GBCI, this evidence is not required.
Plans and Actions: If applicable, provide documentation describing plans the organization has in place and actions/strategies implemented to achieve the targets.
Property-Level Documentation:
Property-Level Data: Provide total Renewable Energy Use for every property in the portfolio for the reporting year (Performance Approach A) and for reporting year and baseline year (Performance Approach B) utilizing the PERFORM Property-Level Data Form. For Percent Renewable Energy, provide the total site energy use for the reporting year (Performance approach A) and for reporting year and baseline year (Performance approach B). Alternative documentation (e.g., spreadsheets prepared for other reporting entities or internal tracking sheets, etc.) may be provided if it includes the same information as required in the PERFORM Property-Level Data Form.
Property-Level Sample Documentation: Provide the following documentation for a sample of SQRT(n) properties, where ‘n’ is the total number of properties in the portfolio. A list of properties selected for sampling will be provided during the portfolio creation process via the Multiple Property Upload Template.
Documentation confirming compliance with requirements for each renewable source documented (e.g., purchase contract, EACs, utility bills, EAC tracking systems, etc.).
Alternative documentation showing compliance with LEED BD+C v4.1 credit Renewable Energy via certification scorecards may be provided in lieu of property-level documentation.
Alternative Documentation:
If applicable, submit third-party assurance or audit reports and documents as supplemental evidence in lieu of portfolio- or property-level data. Final disclosures reported to a regulatory body or voluntary standards body (e.g., Climate Group RE-100, etc.) may be submitted. Please indicate page numbers and section numbers where the relevant metric is shown and reported.
Performance Change in Renewable Energy Use:
Performance change between the reporting year and a baseline year is calculated for this metric using the percentage change formula:
RY = Reporting Year Value BY = Baseline Year Value
Percent Renewable Energy Use:
TRES = Total renewable energy sourced TSE = Total site energy used
Performance Change in Percent Renewable Energy Use:
Performance change between the reporting year and a baseline year is calculated for this metric using the percentage point change formula.
REFERENCES
TERMINOLOGY
Renewable Energy Certificate (REC): A tradeable document that represents the non-power attributes of renewable electricity generation. RECs are issued by third-party tracking systems for every megawatt-hour (MWh) of renewable energy delivered to the electricity grid by a renewable energy asset. A certificate is assigned a unique numbering and includes the specific date, time, and location of the generation.
Bundled vs. Unbundled: A bundled REC means the purchased date and time and amount of renewable energy generation corresponds with the date and time and magnitude of consumption. This REC product is necessary to claim zero operational carbon emissions of electricity. Unbundled RECs do not have the restriction that generation must coincide with consumption for all hours.
Carbon Offsets: a tradeable document that represents one MTCO2e of reduced greenhouse gas emissions from a dedicated project or activity. An offset must be real, permanent, verified and demonstrate additionality. These documents are generally used to offset non-electricity emissions.
: Energy and Emissions Building Performance Standards for Existing Buildings (2024)
gs
(GHG Protocol)
)
for Commercial Buildings
RY% = Reporting Year Value BY% = Baseline Year Value