Brookfield Office Properties Shines in Landlord/Tenant Collaboration
Launched in May 2011, Greening Greater Toronto’s Race to Reduce is a unique program that represents unprecedented collaboration between office building landlords and tenants to promote smarter energy use. It encourages behavioural and operational energy reduction measures through collaboration among landlords, tenants and employees. The race challenges landlords and tenants from the Toronto region to publicly commit to work together to reduce energy in their buildings and to reduce the total energy use in participating buildings by at least 10 percent over four years.
Brookfield Office Properties, a founding participating landlord in Race to Reduce, recently shared the business case for energy reduction projects with tenants from First Canadian Place, Exchange Tower and Lombard Place as it kicked off a campaign to sign up tenants for the Race to Reduce “smart energy” office challenge.
Brookfield Office Properties is committed to the continuous improvement of the energy performance and sustainability profile of its Canadian office portfolio, both in new developments and within existing buildings. The company will save close to 20 percent annually in energy use and $1.8 million annually in energy costs at First Canadian Place, thanks to capital, commissioning and energy management actions it has taken in the past year. Through its comprehensive environmental program – Sustainable Strategies for a Greener Tomorrow™ – the company continues to expand and enhance the features, systems and programs at each of its properties that foster energy and water efficiency and reduce landfill waste.
“These energy reduction measures are translating into significant savings for us and our tenants,” says Brian West, Vice President and Regional General Manager at Brookfield Office Properties.
Mike Wills, Director, Facilities Management at BMO Financial Group, an anchor tenant at First Canadian Place and a Race to Reduce participant, cited the impact that energy reduction measures can have with a retrofit of mercury lights and fixtures. By replacing existing fixtures with electronic ballasts, eliminating mercury bulbs and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) ballasts, BMO has realized an annual savings of more than 400 000 kilowatt hours of energy.
Total office space inventory in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is estimated at 15 million square metres (165 million square feet [sq. ft.]) in more than 1750 office buildings. These buildings account for more than 20 percent of the carbon emissions in the GTA and consume 37 percent of the electricity and 17 percent of the natural gas.
On average, tenant use of office space can represent 25 to 50 percent of a building’s total energy use. Both landlords and tenants have a role to play in energy reduction. By increasing the energy efficiency or reducing energy use, office building landlords and tenants can reduce operating costs, be more competitive and improve the region’s environment.
The Race has clearly struck a chord; the number of participants has doubled since it launched in May 2011. More than 350 major landlords and tenants have now registered 99 buildings representing almost 50 million sq. ft., or 25 percent of the GTA’s office space.
Race To Reduce Awards - Greening Our Workplaces Tenant Series – November 2011, hosted at Northam Realty Advisors’ Bell Trinity Square
To view additional examples of successful landlord/tenant collaboration, visit the Race to Reduce Media Kit page.
For more information on the energy efficiency initiatives of Brookfield Office Properties, visit its Sustainability page.
This article was orginally published in December 2011 edition of the CIPEC Heads Up Energy Efficiency Newletter.
Tags: energy Reduction, Greening Greater Toronto, Race To Reduce, Smart Energy Use
