Office buildings within the U.S. Commercial Real Estate (CRE) sector spend more than $32 billion
annually on energy1 and contribute 18% of US carbon dioxide emissions.2 For building owners, energy
costs directly impact net operating income which is a key metric for their profitability. For tenants, who
are often responsible for the cost of the energy consumption, efficiency improvements are tied to their
bottom line. For the environment, a meaningful reduction in CO2 emissions from commercial buildings
would help move the needle in the fight against climate change. All the major stakeholders involved have
something to gain from reducing energy consumption, and yet the CRE market has been slow to make
large-scale changes. Building owners and management firms must weigh many factors before deciding to
make an investment in energy efficiency. For example, they must estimate their potential return and the
timeframe within which they will receive it. They must also consider the upfront cost and to whom the
benefit will accrue as well as how the investment will be received by tenants. This process takes time and
requires an understanding of the benefits and tradeoffs of available technologies and many firms in the
CRE industry do not have this additional time and expertise. However, with the right decision making
framework, firms in CRE industry can more efficiently explore and evaluate potential investments that
will both increase their profitability and benefit the environment. For this project, we partnered with the
Grand Rapids based property management firm CWD to develop a system by which property managers
can more efficiently identify potential opportunities for investments in energy efficiency that will yield
both a financial return and reduce CO2 emissions.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136605/1/Moya_Ryan_Patton_Daniel_Opus Final Report.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136605/2/Moya_Ryan_Patton_Daniel_Energy Savings Decision Tool .xlsxhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136605/3/Moya_Ryan_Patton_Daniel_Tenant_Energy_Consumption_Reduction.xlsxDescription of Moya_Ryan_Patton_Daniel_Opus Final Report.pdf : Final DocumentDescription of Moya_Ryan_Patton_Daniel_Energy Savings Decision Tool .xlsx : Energy Savings Decision ToolDescription of Moya_Ryan_Patton_Daniel_Tenant_Energy_Consumption_Reduction.xlsx : Tenant Energy Consumptio
