The Challenge
The City of Boise looked to their own operations to find energy savings. They began pursuing “green” certification, with the aim of maximizing energy points in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. They also began tracking energy performance in their existing portfolio, with a goal of identifying and implementing energy conservation strategies. Many of the early energy conservation measures were “low-hanging fruit,” such as LED street lights, interior lighting retrofits, fleet improvements and energy efficiency improvements at the wastewater treatment facilities.
As time went on, it became increasingly clear that existing buildings with aging equipment and infrastructure represented a tremendous opportunity for energy savings. The city realized that more carefully managing their own building portfolio would be the way to demonstrate leadership-by-example in their community. However, Boise was lacking a mechanism to identify inefficient buildings, prioritize upgrades, and guide policy, so it was difficult to know where to start.
The Solution
The City of Boise took their commitment to energy efficiency to a new level. The NEEA project team partnered with the city to undertake a comprehensive approach to efficiency in the city’s municipal portfolio. The team, including New Buildings Institute (NBI), EcoEdge, and Maalka, worked with city staff to benchmark their municipal buildings and develop priorities for portfolio management and performance upgrades. This process engaged multiple city departments, policymakers, and other stakeholders, forming the basis for meaningful discussions of broader city energy goals, and leading to a more comprehensive approach to Public Buildings Portfolio Management for the city. This approach began with a review of current city policies and practices, including the “Sustainable City” initiative under Boise’s overarching livability framework, called LIV.
This framework revealed that the main goals for their Boise’s portfolio were to:
- Lead by Example through transparency, fiscal responsibility and high standards
- Inspire the Community through citizen engagement, public/private collaborations and incentives
- Build Resilience through promotion of resource efficient infrastructure, alternative fuels and renewable energy
Over a series of facilitated meetings, the energy team created a plan that established an energy team, developed quantitative goals for energy efficiency improvements, and consolidated the approaches into one working document to guide the team to success. The plan set up clear tracking metrics including Energy Use Intensity (EUI) targets for particular building types and established routine ways to communicate results to key stakeholders.
The Results
The process has driven cultural and organizational change that saves energy in the City of Boise. Policymakers are closely tracking the progress of the energy team and have a much better understanding of the importance of energy performance in their own portfolio. EUI targets for particular building types and clear measurement protocols and metrics help them better track and understand building performance issues and priorities. The city now publishes an annual sustainability report with a section on energy that tracks progress toward clearly stated municipal building goals.
Because of the Public Buildings Portfolio Management process, the city is now working to establish the means by which the City will disclose energy use at various municipal facilities. The annual sustainability report plus public displays of energy performance such as the one at the new Library! at Brown Crossing will allow Boise to them lead by example and work towards broader energy disclosure policies that impact the entire community.
Download the Full PDF >>
