Toronto office sector nears four-year energy reduction goal ahead of schedule

Third annual CivicAction Race to Reduce awards recognize industry leaders' collaboration and performance

TORONTO, Dec. 6, 2013 /CNW/ - Office buildings participating in CivicAction's Race to Reduce are one percent away from their four-year goal - two years ahead of time, as announced at the third annual Race to Reduce Awards event. Since CivicAction launched the Race to Reduce smart energy office challenge in 2011, landlords and tenants have reduced their collective energy use by nine per cent, just one point shy of the Race's ultimate collective reduction goal of at least 10 per cent by the end of 2014.

"Reaching a 9 per cent reduction in just two short years has highlighted what landlords and tenants can achieve when they focus together on reducing energy, costs, and carbon emissions," said Roger Johnson, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Real Estate, TD Bank Group and Co-Chair of CivicAction's Commercial Building Energy Leadership Council. "It also demonstrates the ample opportunities for Race to Reduce participants and non-participants alike to achieve much greater energy savings."

"Toronto tenants and landlords are exceeding the expectation of the OPA's Conservation Fund. We believe the Race to Reduce couples a comprehensive engagement program with measureable results that demonstrate how tenants and landlords can work together to truly transform how buildings consume energy," said Andrew Pride VP, Conservation, Ontario Power Authority.

Brad Henderson, Regional Senior Managing Director at CBRE Limited and fellow Co-Chair adds, "Beyond the numbers, the greater achievement will be ensuring the continued market transformation of the Toronto region's commercial office sector.  The potential is immense, as cutting energy consumption by at least 10 per cent across the regions' 1,750 buildings means reducing energy consumption by almost 545,000,000 ekWh (equivalent kilowatt hours) -  similar to the annual carbon emissions from more than 14,000 cars - and reducing costs by over $40,000,000."

Hosted by Ben Mulroney, host of CTV's ETALK, the 2013 Race to Reduce Awards took place in conjunction with the Toronto Real Estate Forum. View photos of the event.

In other award news for the night:

Earning the Team Excellence Awards, for the energy reduction results that come with active and sustained landlord and tenant collaboration:

• Rogers Communications Inc. demonstrated collaboration on an impressive scale - across multiple business units and 200 buildings.
• Bentall Kennedy (Canada) LP and RBC's ongoing partnership succeeded in integrating sustainability far beyond traditional facility team activities.

Earning the Energy Champion Award, for industry leadership as it relates to energy reduction efforts:

• Landlord Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd. achieved impressive energy reduction results at its Simcoe Place building through an array of measures guided by a unique collective of stakeholders
• Tenant RBC's progressive energy reduction techniques demonstrated commitment to energy conservation at the highest levels in their business strategy.

Earning a Building Performance Award: Nine buildings were recognized for Lowest Energy Use (2012) and Greatest Energy Reduction (2011 - 2012).

Building Performance - Greatest Energy Reduction (2011 - 2012)

Building Performance - Lowest Energy Use² (2012)

About CivicAction's Race to Reduce
Launched in May 2011, CivicAction's Race to Reduce challenges Toronto region landlords and tenants in office buildings of all types, sizes and ages to publicly commit to work together to reduce energy use in their buildings and to reduce the total energy use in participating office buildings by at least 10 per cent over four years. The aim is to improve air quality in the Toronto region and achieve sustained carbon emission reductions in the office building sector, which now contributes close to 20 per cent of the region's carbon emissions, according to the Living City Report Card. Currently over 175 buildings are registered in the Race to Reduce, representing over 67 million sq. ft. - or over 32 per cent of the region's office space.

This project is funded in part through the Conservation Fund of the Ontario Power Authority. CivicAction would like to acknowledge the support of 2013 Race to Reduce Awards Presenting Sponsors CBRE Limited and Toronto Hydro and Sponsoring Association BOMA Toronto.

CivicAction is also grateful for the support provided to the Race to Reduce by program sponsors Brookfield Johnson Controls, Cushman & Wakefield, Enbridge Gas Distribution, Green Business Standards, Manulife Real Estate, Toronto Hydro, and Union Gas, and media and communication partners Canadian Property Management and Building Strategies and Sustainability.

For more information about the Race to Reduce and a full list of award winners, see below and visit www.racetoreduce.ca.

About CivicAction
For the past 10 years, the Greater Toronto CivicAction Alliance (CivicAction) has brought together senior executives and rising leaders from all sectors to tackle some of our region's toughest social, economic and environmental challenges. CivicAction sets a non-partisan agenda, builds strategic partnerships with organizations, and launches campaigns, programs and organizations that transform our region. For more information, visit: www.civicaction.ca, or follow us on Twitter @CivicActionGTA.

¹Based on 2010-2012 Total Site Energy Use (kBtu).
²Awards were presented based on building performance data submitted to Energy Star's Portfolio Manager. An Energy Star performance rating of 92 indicates that the building is among the top 8% of similar buildings across Canada, while a rating of 93 indicates that the building is among the top 7% of similar buildings across Canada.

SOURCE: CivicAction