OSE and the City’s capital departments are working to shrink our energy use and reduce GHG emissions in City-owned facilities. Seattle’s Resource Conservation Management work is a fairly technical body of work but absolutely critical in terms of leading the way to meeting the Citywide goal for an 82% reduction in building-related GHG emissions by 2050. The aim of our Resource Conservation Management program is to ensure that our city-owned buildings are operating as efficiently as possible, with a near-term target to achieve a 20% reduction in energy use by 2020. Long-term this puts us on the path to significantly reducing the GHG emissions of the City-owned building portfolio.
OSE works across City departments to identify and implement priority energy efficiency projects that complement the efforts of individual departments and that accelerate progress toward greater effiency and reduced GHG emissions. This focused efficiency work means that we are on track towards meeting our 20% energy reduction goal. From 2008 through 2015 we have achieved a nearly 9% reduction in energy use across the City’s buildings, which corresponds to a 15% reduction in our building related carbon emissions in that same timeframe.
In 2017-2018, we will be continuing dedicated efforts to improve efficiency and reduce emissions through the following actions:
- Building tune-ups: operational improvements for our largest buildings. This work is part of our commitment to complete mandated Building Tune-Ups in advance of the compliance deadlines for the private market. Those over 200,000 square feet are under way and due to be completed by October 2017.
- Parking Garage LED lighting upgrades
- Building Stairwell LED lighting upgrades
- Advanced Rooftop Unit Control upgrades, and
- Comprehensive energy upgrades at 10 individual buildings.
For more information about Seattle’s resource conservation management work, please contact Wes Hoppler, wes.hoppler@seattle.gov