$4bn for Energy Efficiency Announced; Walgreens, Kohl’s, Nissan Commit to Upgrades

by | Dec 2, 2011

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3M, Alcoa, GE, Kohl’s, Nissan, Supervalu, Walgreens and dozens of other organizations joined President Obama and former president Bill Clinton today in announcing almost $4 billion in federal and private sector energy upgrades to buildings over the next two years.

The 60 CEOs, mayors, university presidents, and labor leaders committed to invest nearly $2 billion of private capital to upgrade energy performance by at least 20 percent by 2020 in 1.6 billion square feet of office, industrial, municipal, hospital, college and school buildings.

Obama also issued a presidential memorandum which he says commits the  federal government to spend $2 billion on energy upgrades to its own buildings. The memorandum calls for the government to fully implement its authority to use Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs). Under ESPCs, new energy efficient equipment is installed at no up-front cost to the building owner, who pays for the improvements over time through savings on utility bills.

Today’s commitments form part of the Better Buildings Challenge,which Obama launched last February. The challenge, spearheaded by Clinton and the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, aims make America’s buildings 20 percent more efficient over the next decade, reducing energy costs for American businesses by nearly $40 billion.

Today’s announcement also builds on a commitment made by 14 partners at the Clinton Global Initiative America meeting in June, to make energy upgrades across 300 million square feet, and to invest $500 million in private sector financing in energy efficiency projects.

In September the Clinton Global Initiative announced a three-year project in which commercial partners will work with tenants signing or renewing leases, to incorporate energy efficiency measures and document the economic benefits. Partners include Goldman Sachs, Greenprint Foundation, Johnson Controls, Jones Lang LaSalle, Malkin Holdings LLC, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Vornado Realty Trust and YR&G.

The White House said the investments committed to today will save billions in energy costs, promote energy independence, and create tens of thousands of construction jobs.

Better Buildings commitments announced today include:

3M: With 78 plants committed to the Challenge, 3M aims to reduce energy use an additional 25% by 2015 in 37 million square feet of building space.

Alcoa: Alcoa has made a commitment of improving energy efficiency by 25% across 30 million square feet of industrial plant space by the year 2020. Alcoa’s portfolio for the Challenge consists of 30 plants, which currently consume 42 trillion BTUs of energy.

Briggs and Stratton: Briggs & Stratton Corporation is the world’s largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment. It has set a goal to improve energy intensity by 25 percent by 2018 across eight manufacturing plants and a total of 5.8 million square feet of facility space.

CBRE: CBRE has established a commitment of achieving on average a 20% energy reduction target by 2020 across an initial portfolio totaling 25 million square feet of buildings nationwide.

Forest City Enterprises: Forest City Enterprises is a national real estate company with more than $10 billion in total assets. It is committed to reducing energy consumption 20% by 2020 across 14 million square feet.

GE: GE Capital Americas  (GECA) will shape a credit strike zone and profitability model for commercial building energy efficiency projects, which the company says will lead to financeable opportunities of $50MM+.

HEI Hotels & Resorts: The owner of brands including Marriott, Renaissance, Westin, Le Meridien, Sheraton, W, Hilton, Embassy Suites and Crowne Plaza has committed to reducing the energy use in 10 million square feet of building space 20% by 2020.

InterContinental Hotels Group: IHG is participating in the Better Buildings Challenge by committing 24 million square feet of hotels.

Jones Lang LaSalle: Jones Lang LaSalle is committing to improve energy efficiency at large properties totaling 98 million square feet across its U.S. managed portfolio, in order to achieve a 20% energy reduction by 2020.

Kohl’s Department Stores: Kohl’s commits to reduce its use of energy in more than 112 million square feet of occupied building space by at least 20 percent by 2020.

Nissan North America: As part of the Better Buildings Better Plants Challenge, Nissan has committed to reducing energy usage in its three U.S. plants 25% by 2020, affecting 12 million square feet of plant space. In Smyrna, Tenn., Nissan is currently making a $200 million investment in a new paint plant that will improve energy efficiency by 30% compared to the plant it is replacing.

The PNC Financial Services Group: PNC is working towards a 30% energy reduction goal in 26 million square feet by 2020.

Prologis: The global provider of industrial real estate has about 600 million square feet of distribution space in markets across the Americas, Europe and Asia totaling $42 billion in total assets under management. Prologis says it is working with customers to reduce energy consumption in 100 million square feet by 20% by 2020.

RREEF Real Estate: The global real estate investment business of Deutsche Bank’s asset management division has over $58.5 billion dollars in assets under management. It is committing to reducing the energy consumption across a portfolio of at least 5 million square feet of US commercial office buildings by 20 percent by 2020.

Saint-Gobain Corporation: The building materials company employs 19,000 people in North America at 140 manufacturing facilities. As a Better Buildings Better Plants Challenge Partner, Saint-Gobain has pledged to increase efficiency across its 114 U.S. plants, targeting a 25% reduction in energy consumption by 2019 over 20 million square feet of building space.

Schneider Electric: Schneider Electric has committed to reducing the energy use of 9 million square feet of building space, covering 40 different plants, by 25%.

Shorenstein Properties LLC: The real estate investment company is targeting a 20% consumption by 2020 over a baseline of 2008 in over 12 million square feet.

Supervalu: With over 89 million square feet, SUPERVALU plans to reduce by 20 percent its energy consumption by 2020.

TIAA-CREF: The financial services organization specializing in retirement services to 3.7 million customers has committed to reduce energy consumption in 40 million square feet by 20% by 2020.

Southern California Edison: As a Better Buildings Challenge Utility Ally, SCE will provide a “one stop shop” for building owners, offering automated data upload into Portfolio Manager and coordinating program offerings for its customers.

Walgreens Co.: The drugstore committing to reducing energy use by 20% by 2020 across its portfolio of 125 million square feet.

Wyndham Worldwide: Wyndham is implementing a plan for franchise properties to adopt energy efficient measures, including a commitment of reducing 20% of their energy consumption by 2020, over 10 million square feet.

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