Owning multiple commercial properties or being responsible for energy in buildings with diverse uses is a huge undertaking. And when it comes to energy procurement and consumption, it can be tough to align your strategy across all real estate or use cases.
Here, we’re discussing the best ways to introduce a cohesive, aligned energy strategy across all buildings or building uses—from benchmarking to bidding—with the help of a procurement partner.
How To Bring Cohesion To A Diverse Portfolio
Building a homogenous strategy across multiple sites requires a robust understanding of each building’s consumption levels and trends, so it’s best to start by benchmarking usage.
Benchmarking and Prioritization
Establish a baseline energy consumption level for each property type (office, retail, residential, education, etc.) using either industry standards or your own historical data. This will allow you to track progress, assess the effectiveness of your strategy, and more easily identify areas for improvement.
Benchmarking also helps you identify the leaders and laggers of your portfolio, where those that are performing well (leaders) serve as models, and those that need to catch up (laggers) become prime targets for energy-saving efforts.
Standardized Policies
Develop clear and concise corporate energy and sustainability policies that outline goals, expectations, and best practices for all properties.
Consider defining a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) for energy use that you can track across all buildings. This could include energy consumption per square foot, per occupant, etc.
What Do Suppliers Consider When You’re Vying for a New Contract?
Bringing your cohesive energy strategy to life relies on your ability to source suppliers and negotiate deals. This is where a consultant can help.
Before providing pricing or contract terms, suppliers will look at your properties for historical usage, weather, storage, and other trends to ensure they can purchase the right amount of energy for your needs. The better you can present this information, the quicker deals can get done, and the more money you can save.
Measuring Energy Management Success
ECX Marketplace powered by WideSky is a smart, tech-enabled platform that simplifies utility management by providing immediate visibility on usage, spending, emissions, and ESG performance, enabling actionable insights across your portfolio.
Better yet, the platform is easy to implement. It captures data from utility invoices, interval data, and site meters, working with your existing systems to streamline the collection of critical sustainability data at a fraction of the effort and cost of manual alternatives.
Discover More Ways To Save with EnerConnex
With EnerConnex, you’re never left alone when it comes to energy strategy development or procurement. Our experts work with you to create cost- and energy-efficient strategies that strive to bring every building under your care into an affordable, sustainable light.
Ready to learn more? Contact us today.