The search is on for the Portland office property with the best energy efficiency rating. From newly LEED-certified buildings to 100-year old landmarks; from the suburbs to the heart of the city; multi-tenant or owner-occupied—the 2007 BOMA Portland Office Energy Showdown challenges facility managers and building owners to assess their buildings’ energy performance. The challenge aims to identify the most energy efficient office building in the Portland market and learn how each property can reduce its cost per square foot.
“We’re thrilled to bring this opportunity to Portland-area building owners,” said Susan Steward, Executive Director of BOMA Portland. “We’re eager to help people identify the best buildings in town as well as introduce innovations to those buildings that need a boost.”
Participants, who must be BOMA members, set up an account with the ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager and input monthly energy records from April 2006 through March 2007. This data will be used to generate benchmarking scores.
The nationwide ENERGY STAR rating system accounts for weather, building location, use and operating characteristics; a score of 75 or higher on the 100-point scale qualifies a property for the ENERGY STAR label. For the first time ever, BOMA will then determine which property has the highest energy efficiency rating in Portland. Winners will be announced at BOMA Portland’s June 13th membership meeting.
BOMA Portland Office Energy Showdown participants reap a number of benefits. Participants receive an unbiased ranking of their building’s energy efficiency with a private report detailing their overall market ranking. First, second, and third place winners receive cash prizes and all properties qualifying for the ENERGY STAR label receive free engineering certification.
In addition, winners and ENERGY STAR qualifiers will be featured in Portland area publications. Most importantly, property owners can see how their building measures up and learn how to reduce the costs of operation.
As a companion to the Energy Challenge, BOMA Portland proudly presents the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP) to share best practices on energy efficiency in office properties. From January 31st through September 19th, 2007, BOMA Portland will offer six classes as part of the BEEP series. Developed by the BOMA Foundation in partnership with ENERGY STAR, BEEP is an innovative operational excellence program designed for property owners, managers, and operators. Previously only available in national Web casts, live interactive sessions held in Portland will focus on low, no-cost techniques to optimize equipment, people and practices.
For registration and additional information about BOMA Portland, visit this link. Partnering with BOMA Portland to sponsor these programs are BetterBricks and Energy Trust of Oregon.
