Horizon House retirement community has made great strides in its efforts to lower its impact on the environment. The Conservation Committee works to find ways to save energy and other resources. Several years ago, one of the residents active on the committee asked her grandson Corey Weathers, a Principal at Catalyst 2030, to help them find the best ways to save resources at their facility. Beginning with an understanding of how their building performed via annual energy benchmarking (required for owners of non-residential and multifamily buildings 20,000 sf or larger in Seattle), they then analyzed the results to find out where the biggest savings could be gained.
In 2012, energy, water and waste conservation efforts at Horizon House saved the community more than $50,000 on utility bills, exceeding projected savings by more than $18,000. Operational changes and facility upgrades were major contributors, but residents also helped by making simple changes in behaviors to conserve resources.
You can read Corey’s great blog post about Horizon House’s process, as well as our case study with more details on this successful project.