Commonwealth Achieves Targets Three Years Earlier than Anticipated with Portfolio-wide Energy Policy
LABBC CASE STUDY
PROPERTY OWNER
CommonWealth Partners
PROPERTY TYPE
Office
SQUARE FEET
4,124,194 (2 Buildings)
194,749 kWh
Average energy reductions across portfolio in 2017
88
Average Energy Star Score across LA portfolio
2018 Innovation Awards: Portfolio of the Year Finalist
“We are ardent advocates for sustainable building operations because they allow our tenants to enjoy healthier workplaces and reduced costs while also achieving superior results for our investors. Equally important for all of us, we are contributing toward healthier communities for future generations.”
TRAVIS ADDISON, Principal, CommonWealth Partners
PORTFOLIO
DESCRIPTION
CommonWealth Partners (CWP) is a vertically integrated, privately-owned real estate investment, development, and management organization. CWP’s Los Angeles portfolio is made up of 2 properties, 1888 Century Park East and City National Plaza, both of which are LEED and ENERGY STAR certified buildings.
SUSTAINABILITY GOALS
CWP’s mission is to create and maintain environments that are safe, healthy, and efficient while securing the financial health of our investors and tenants. In 2014, CWP put this mission into practice by establishing an Energy Policy that outlines portfolio-wide energy, emission, and water use reduction goals of 20 percent by 2020.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
With the energy efficiency projects that have taken place at CWP’s properties over the last few years, the portfolio was able to achieve their energy and emission reduction targets three years earlier than anticipated.
2017 PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
1888 Century Park East- installed a cool (white) roof to reflect the sun’s rays instead of absorbing them, and implanted an LED retrofit throughout the garage and lobby increasing the total number of LED lights throughout the entire property to 91 percent.
City National Plaza- converted 29 floors from pneumatic to DDC controls, installed high-efficiency motors on all four chill water pumps, installed two chill water pump VFDs, and installed Solar Reflective Window Film on the Southern and Eastern exposures Off-Site Garage Lighting retrofit (estimated $136,000/year savings on a one-year payback).
PROJECTS COMPLETED
BEFORE 2017
City National Plaza- achieved First Place Sustainability Award in 2016 from LADWP for overall energy management savings of over 5.3 million kWh by replacing and retrofitting air conditioning chiller units. Since 2003, City National Plaza has undergone several retrofits that have resulted millions of dollars in savings.
1888 Century Park East- reduce water use as a result of low-flow plumbing upgrades, converting all exterior vegetation to drought tolerant, and installing artificial turf in specific areas.
Corporate-wide water efficiency plumbing fixture upgrades have taken place across all common areas along with landscaping with drought tolerant plants.
PRO TIPS
“Understanding our building systems well and acknowledging that there is always room for improvement helps us execute successful efficiency projects. We aim to get the best ROI while focusing on what makes the most sense with our current equipment.“
JOHN SMITH
Director of Engineering and Operations
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
CWP established a sustainability energy team that consists of corporate representatives, property engineers, and property managers. They also conduct an annual ESG materiality assessment to continuously improve understanding of the operational and environmental issues that affect investors, tenants, partners, and communities. Once a capital upgrade opportunity is identified, operations teams will seek bids, and evaluate and confirm projected energy savings and relevant engineering data.
INNOVATION
CWP ensures its tenants are aware and engaged in their efficiency commitments by providing green lease agreements that describe CommonWealth’s efficiency goals. All tenants are also given a Green Office Guide which provides tips and strategies for potential efficiency upgrades at each building. The property management team also meets with tenants to determine if there are efficiency measures available to them.
