Bring the Challenge to Your Community

Download the “Bring the Challenge to Your Community” PDF (2.04MB)

[YOUR NAME] Energy Challenge In Partnership with ENERGY STAR®

Purpose:

Establish a program and marketing campaign to increase and accelerate energy efficiency activities by owners and managers of commercial and industrial buildings in [COMMUNITY/ORGANIZATION NAME] [(OPTIONAL), with a special focus on target groups such as commercial real estate, corporate real estate, hospitality, retail, healthcare, schools, etc.].

Goal:

In the target areas, achieve an overall energy use reduction of 10 percent or more among participating buildings or organizations. This reduction will be measured against a baseline beginning on [DATE].

Name:

[Community/Organization Name] Energy Challenge [or other desired name]

Program Elements:

Building owners and managers will be encouraged to take the necessary and appropriate steps to identify the commercial and industrial buildings where financially attractive improvements can be made to reduce energy use by 10 percent or more. Activities recommended to building owners and managers include:

• Make a commitment: Building owners and managers will pledge their interest in participating in the Challenge. They will make this pledge by [INSERT DETAILS ON HOW THEY WILL MAKE THE PLEDGE — ONLINE SIGN-UP, FAX IN A FORM, ETC.].
• Determine how much energy buildings are using: Systematically tracking building energy use highlights buildings that may be using unnecessary amounts of energy. The energy use of any commercial or industrial building can be entered into EPA's online software tool, Portfolio Manager, to track reductions over time. For many buildings, EPA offers a national energy performance rating system that scores a building's energy efficiency, on a scale of 1 to 100, relative to similar buildings across the country. The rating system is available for office buildings, schools, hotels, hospitals, and grocery stores among others. Building owners and managers will assess the energy use of their buildings and establish their baseline using Portfolio Manager.
• Establish efficiency improvement goals: An efficiency improvement goal of 10 percent or greater should be established for all participating buildings or for as many as possible.
• Make improvements: Building owners and managers will be provided access to ENERGY STAR and other available resources for assistance in determining the most appropriate energy efficiency improvement activities for their situation. Other resources might include programs run by local utilities as well as offerings of local, regional, or national associations.
• Progress tracking: Building owners and managers will track their progress by entering their utility bills into Portfolio Manager. Portfolio Manager will then show them their percent energy reduction as compared to their baseline for individual buildings as well as for the entire portfolio of the organization.
• Apply for recognition: Building owners and managers will print reports from Portfolio Manager to demonstrate their reductions and submit these reports as an application for recognition of reaching the 10 percent or more reduction goal. They will also be encouraged to apply for any appropriate recognition offered by EPA, such as the ENERGY STAR Label for any buildings that qualify.

Assistance Offered:

Building owners and managers participating in the [COMMUNITY/ORGANIZATION NAME] Energy Challenge will be directed to the technical assistance opportunities offered by EPA through ENERGY STAR. These resources include: guidelines for energy management; technical documents on building upgrades; financial calculators to evaluate potential projects; "live" online training; and others. Participants will also be directed to a wide range of other technical and financial assistance programs, including:

• Programs offered by national associations that are ENERGY STAR Partners, such as:
  • Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP)
  • American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) Online Energy Efficiency Webinar Series
  • American Society of Healthcare Engineers (ASHE) Energy Efficiency Commitment (E2C) Program
  • National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Energy Stewardship Initiative
  • American Bar Association (ABA) Eco-Challenge
• Programs offered by local utilities.
• Programs offered by the state.

Recognition:

Opportunities for recognition at the local level are critical to driving participation by local building owners and managers, as they will be recognized among the community they serve. In addition to recognition opportunities offered at the local level, participants will be encouraged to apply for recognition available from EPA, including the ENERGY STAR label for individual buildings and ENERGY STAR Leaders for portfolio-wide energy performance improvements.

Potential local recognition opportunities could include:

• Special meeting/event (breakfast, lunch, reception) with business or government officials.
• Recognition in a public service announcement placed in the local news media.
• Financial incentives.

Potential Partners:

• U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Program
• BOMA-BEEP (including local chapter)
• AH&LA
• ASHE
• NADA
• ABA
• [LOCAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND/OR BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT NAMES]
• [LOCAL UTILITY NAMES]
• [LOCAL NEWSPAPER, TV, RADIO OUTLET NAMES]

Roles:

EPA will provide:

• Assistance linking existing assistance programs from key organizations such as BOMA, AH&LA, ASHE, and others.
• Marketing and communication materials templates.
• Assistance identifying and designing outreach and promotional activities.
• Online training sessions on Portfolio Manager and other relevant topics as needed.
• ENERGY STAR recognition to those buildings and portfolios that qualify.

[COMMUNITY/ORGANIZATION NAME] will provide:

• Implementation of outreach and promotional activities.
• One-stop customer service to building owners and managers responding to the Challenge.
• Incentive programs.
• Locally focused recognition.