Release: City's Building Owners Greatly Exceed Participation Expectations In Energy Benchmarking Program

The Office of Sustainability's be will host a community conversation on July 28 to further answer questions--particularly from underrepresented organizations--about joining its popular Thriving Buildings program
 

INDIANAPOLIS -- After launching benchmarking and transparency program Thriving Buildings in March of this year, the City's Office of Sustainability set a goal of recruiting 50 different properties around Indianapolis to begin voluntarily tracking their energy and water usage; just four months later, a total of 187 buildings are enrolled, including many city-owned buildings, for a total square footage greater than 30 million square feet .

To further encourage participation, the Office is hosting a Community Conversation on the benefits of benchmarking on Thursday, July 28 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Indianapolis Public Library Michigan Road Branch (6201 Michigan Rd). This conversation is geared toward building representatives who are wondering how their tenants or business might be impacted. Food will be provided, and attendees will be entered to win a selection of everyday items to aid in living sustainably.

Thriving Buildings is the resulting initiative following the City-County Council's passage of the benchmarking and transparency ordinance last summer, bringing with it the potential to significantly reduce utility costs, create jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the built environment, and improve overall air quality citywide.

Indianapolis buildings that have opted to improve their environmental leadership by benchmarking include the Indianapolis Public Library, Indianapolis Public Schools, Newfields, the Indianapolis Airport Authority, the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Finish Line/JD Sports, Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis, All Souls Unitarian Church, Pepper Construction, and IU Health. A map of participating buildings is included below.

Benchmarking refers to the tracking of energy and water use of buildings, giving building owners the ability to become more efficient, track their progress over time, and cut costs. Transparency refers to the sharing of benchmarking information, such as building scores and building characteristics, to the city and community.

During the current phase of the program, only municipal buildings greater than 50,000 square feet are required to comply; it is currently voluntary for all other building types. Starting in 2023, all buildings greater than 100,000 square feet will be required to comply.

As a result of Thriving Buildings, the Indy community has the potential - through 2030 - to benefit from:

  • A 27% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions within the built environment

  • $77 million in public health savings due to improved air quality

  • Greater than $194 million in utility bill savings

  • The creation of 1,400 jobs

Indy joins dozens of peers cities nationwide with similar ordinances and subsequent programs in place, including Columbus, Chicago, and Denver.

The ordinance development process was also supported by the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge. Indianapolis was one of the 25 winning cities in the Climate Challenge, which helped cities set and surpass ambitious climate goals by ramping up action in the two highest emitting sectors in cities: transportation and buildings.

###

Lindsay Trameri