We’re encouraged by the number of businesses that reach out to us seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. What’s even more encouraging is the growing momentum to make these practices mainstream business. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is becoming an important part of global business and investment strategies. While a full ESG initiative may seem overwhelming, Minify Energy has found ways to help even small businesses and property owners make an impact, at least focusing on the “E” of ESG - the Environment aspects, adding value to the organization’s brand and properties while realizing immediate lowered operational expenses.
Gartner defines ESG as a “collection of corporate performance evaluation criteria that assess the robustness of a company’s governance mechanisms and its ability to effectively manage its environmental and social impacts.” They cite examples that include the quantification of a company’s carbon emissions and water consumption.
In KPMG’s 2022 CEO Outlook Survey, “more than 70% of CEOs reported that they were being held personally responsible for making the changes that will be needed in the years to come – by reducing emissions, sourcing renewable energy, and adopting policies that make companies better corporate citizens.” And Deloitte states in its April 2022 report, Ingraining sustainability in the next era of ESG investing, that “evidence from fund prospectuses suggests that ESG has moved into the mainstream. Investment fund prospectuses that do not mention sustainability statements are becoming increasingly harder to find”
We believe that it’s not just larger corporations that are being judged on their approach to ESG. As more and more people become concerned about climate change, they are also becoming more conscientious about aligning with businesses that are transparent about their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint. And, recognizing that buildings are major energy consumers with significant opportunity for immediate impact, the commercial real estate (CRE) owners and operators. plus investment-oriented REITS, are looking to improve their building and portfolio value through sustainable practices.
The process we use with our clients is to: IDENTIFY > INCENTIVIZE > FINANCE > COMPLETE.
Identify - We start with an energy audit of all our clients to understand where energy-saving opportunities exist. This includes an evaluation of Utility Bills to identify potential errors, tax savings, and rate changes. This has netted some of our clients thousands in both immediate and ongoing savings.
We also conduct Utility Data Analysis and Benchmarking to provide insights on consumption over time. This helps determine how a building is performing compared to others in the region of similar size and use. It also shows how a building’s energy use is impacting costs like peak demand charges - which can be 50% or more of the bill - or “power factor” ratings.
Incentivize - By using our intimate knowledge of the various grants and incentives offered by utilities and government agencies to help fund efforts to reduce energy consumption.
Finance - We’re aware of a variety of private and public programs that can offer low or no-interest loans for projects to lower energy use. By combining incentives and financing options, some clients have been able to eliminate upfront expenses, with a $0 out-of-pocket, cashflow-neutral model.
Complete - Minify Energy serves as an energy reduction aggregator, which reduces the time, money, and effort companies typically invest toward a variety of independent energy-reduction strategies. Often, when companies start their efforts to reduce energy use, they work in what we refer to as energy silos, focusing on solar, HVAC, or lighting. Despite being part of the same strategy, these efforts become energy silos because they end up being separate initiatives. Companies end up reaching out to multiple consultants or system bidders for each energy reduction project they launch.
At Minify Energy, we approach projects with the mindset of “if this was our building, what would we do?” We encourage our clients to adopt a whole-building approach to improving energy use in their properties because the opportunities it generates is geometric, not linear. By considering a range of factors focused on energy reduction - and also factoring in operations and maintenance, building value, and occupant experience - the climate impact and financial returns for the organization are impressive…and worth sharing!