Efficient buildings, those that make productive use of natural, human and financial resources, are vital to achieving sustainable development. They align economic, social and environmental opportunities, creating so-called “triple bottom line” benefits.

That was the main takeaway from a keynote address recently delivered by Clay Nesler, vice president, global energy and sustainability, Building Efficiency,Johnson Controls, at the fourth Georgetown University Energy Prize workshop at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In his address, “Accelerating Building Efficiency,” Nesler highlighted a recent report from the World Resource Institute’s Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, which outlines eight actions that urban leaders can take to improve energy efficiency in buildings. The actions fall into the following categories: building efficiency codes and standards; efficiency improvement targets; performance information and certifications; incentives and finance; government leadership by example; private building owner, manager and occupant engagement; technical and financial service provider engagement; and working with utilities.

Johnson Controls works closely with local governments and other entities to evaluate and implement those actions as part of an overall energy efficiency strategy. 

“Why care about buildings?” Nesler asked some 40 members of Midwest communities who attended the workshop. “One is there’s a very large impact. Forty percent of our energy and a third of our greenhouse gas emissions globally are attributable to buildings, but it’s even higher in major urban areas. The good news is, with current technology and practices, we have the potential to reduce energy use by a third.”

Urban leaders should adopt an integrated set of policies and programs, such as creating demand for energy efficiency retrofits while addressing the available supply of financing and incentives, he added. Cities that take an integrated approach tend to make more progress than cities focused on one or two separate initiatives.

In addition to the keynote address, attendees heard presentations from the University of Wisconsin and several communities competing for the Georgetown University Energy Prize.

Faramarz Vakili, director of operations, maintenance and utilities, discussed the university’s “We Conserve” campaign, which has reduced energy consumption by more than 25 percent and eliminated 287,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions since 2006. In addition, the university has reduced water use by 42 percent during the same timeframe.

“The university has several agendas,” Vakili said. “One is to actually be efficient in our operations, whether the motive is environmental stewardship or student education or saving money. We are a huge community, and we not only have a huge consumption of resources, but we also are responsible for educating 43,000 students who are going to be the parents of tomorrow, CEOs of tomorrow, senators of tomorrow. So we have a responsibility to be the best we can be in the area of efficiency.”

Madison’s story is similar to the other 49 communities competing for the Georgetown prize. Collectively, those communities, which include colleges and universities, saved more than $64 million with their energy efficiency plans and cut CO2 emissions by over 330,000 metric tons. It’s the equivalent of permanently taking one car off the street every five minutes.

“That’s what I see when I look at the numbers in Georgetown,” said Francis Slakey, executive director of the Georgetown University Energy Prize. “But when I come to Madison or any of the other workshops, I get to see the people behind the numbers and the transformative impact of energy efficiency.”

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