RELEASE: In effort to cut emissions and improve public health, City again teaching building owners to track utility data
In Effort to Cut Emissions and Improve Public Health, City Again Teaching Building Owners to Track Utility Data
Thriving Buildings "Data Jams" are opportunities for managers of Indy buildings to learn to benchmark utility usage and empower energy efficiency efforts
INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis building owners and facilities managers of structures 50,000 square feet or larger can attend free, guided workshops where they can learn how to begin tracking their utility data in the free ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager software program. The three in-person workshops, referred to as "Data Jams," are hosted by the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability with technical support provided by the Indiana Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Roughly two-thirds of Indy's citywide emissions are produced from the energy used to power, heat, and cool buildings. The process of intentionally tracking a building's electric, water, gas, and steam use is referred to as "benchmarking."
According to nonpartisan global energy systems nonprofit RMI, campuses and individual buildings that benchmark and take action are proven to experience decreased utility costs as well as decreased emissions. According to independent nonprofit World Resources Institute, buildings are the biggest, most cost-effective emissions mitigation solution available.
Once facilities managers know how to measure their building's energy consumption, they can begin to manage it by conducting an energy audit, implementing LED lighting retrofits, pursuing more efficient HVAC system upgrades, and more. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Eiteljorg Museum are hosts for this year's Data Jams. Both are examples of large building owners championing sustainability projects and have cut utility costs by prioritizing energy efficiency. Data Jams participants will have the opportunity to network with other local facilities managers and learn ways to advance and finance similar efforts at their own properties.
Three years ago, the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability launched Thriving Buildings, a program designed to promote energy efficiency efforts in large buildings throughout Marion County. The program was developed to manage compliance with the City's Energy Benchmarking and Transparency Ordinance , passed in 2021. Indianapolis buildings covered by the ordinance have until June 1, 2025 to submit data from 2024. Hundreds of Indianapolis buildings have already benchmarked this year.
According to a 2020 study by Greenlink Analytics, Thriving Buildings could spur both economic development and environmental benefits for Indianapolis business owners, tenants, and community members by 2030. Those benefits could include a 27% reduction in emissions, millions of dollars in utility bill savings, millions of dollars in public health savings due to improved air quality, and hundreds of new jobs. Indianapolis follows dozens of cities and states around the country with similar programs and policies in place to help improve public health.
Participants should register in advance by using the links provided below and plan to bring a laptop (or printed utility bills from each month of 2024) to follow along and leave the workshop in compliance with the Ordinance.
Data Jam #1
When: Wednesday, March 26 | 1:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Where: Ball State College of Architecture and Planning Indianapolis | 25 N Pine Street
Data Jam #2
When: Monday, April 21 | 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Where: Indianapolis Motor Speedway | 4790 West 16th Street
Data Jam #3
When: Wednesday, May 7 | 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Where: Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art | 500 West Washington Street
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