Greenprint Members Office Buildings Total Energy Use Increases from 2017-2018

In 2009, leading real estate owners around the globe came together to form Greenprint: a group committed sustainable practices in the real estate industry. The ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance has been tracking carbon reduction efforts and asset value of member buildings worldwide for a decade, shining light on the current trends in sustainability.

While nearly every sector of real estate is on a mission to save energy, and therefore money, some asset classes are doing it better than others. As the chart illustrates, high-street retail is leading the way with a 7.29% in energy usage year-over-year. That’s not entirely surprising considering the small footprint of those locations makes improvements more feasible. Retail warehousing like those operated by Amazon all across the country came in second, with a 2.98% reduction. Self-storage is using more energy as improvements in technology wire units that used to be secured by a simple padlock.

Office buildings increasing their energy consumption is surprising given how much money has been spent to increase efficiency. Clearly more improvements need to be made. To get serious savings, landlords and property managers need to move past easy fixes like installing LED light bulbs. Installing building automation and management systems will help monitor usage. As the old saying goes: You can’t manage what you can’t measure.

A commitment to new technology and improved energy efficiency will not only help realize significant savings but ensure sustainability efforts unlock a green future for generations to come.

Read the full report: http://americas.uli.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/ULI-Documents/Greenprint_PerformanceReport_VOL-10.pdf