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Page 8 — Property Management Quarterly — October 2017
Sustainability
First-Class
Service
For All Properties
At Elkco Properties, we believe all investors and owners—and their
tenants—deserve the services and programs typically provided to only
high-end properties. All Elkco clients receive exclusive access to so ware
that handles online payments and leasing agreements, tenant screening,
social media advertising, rent comparisons, and ratio utility billing
(or RUBS) all at your ngertips. It is one more way Elkco creates value.
Contact Ken Cilia at 303.778.0380 today and learn how our top-of-the-line
service can help you increase your cash ow and decrease your turnover.
303.778.0380
E nergy is the third-largest
expense for most small busi-
nesses, trailing only labor
and rent, according to the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Small Business Energy Initiative. To
help customers better understand
their utility expenses and encour-
age energy-efficiency improvements
and cost-saving best practices, Fort
Collins Utilities is leading the Build-
ing Energy Scoring initiative, a free
service for commercial and multi-
family customers.
Through the BES initiative, property
managers and building owners can
learn the value of energy scoring and
benchmarking – the practice of mea-
suring and comparing the perfor-
mance of a building’s energy use to
itself, its peers or established norms,
with the goal of informing and moti-
vating performance improvement.
They also will know how their build-
ing’s energy efficiency compares to
others and can use that information
to help save money and resources.
As energy benchmarking becomes
a common practice across the Front
Range, owners and managers of com-
mercial and multifamily buildings
are seeking to simplify the process
of obtaining utility data. Utilities’
commercial customers and multi-
family buildings now can receive a
free Energy Star score through an
Efficiency Works facility assessment
Energy Star scores grade building
energy use on a 1 to 100 scale against
similar properties. As part of the BES
program, buildings with a score of
75 or greater also can receive a veri-
fied score review and a free Energy
Star certification by
a licensed profes-
sional.
• Supporting
informed invest-
ments. Benchmark-
ing buildings allows
owners and facil-
ity managers to
track energy use
to gauge opportu-
nity for reducing
energy expenses
and saving money,
as well as tracking
returns on investment. Working in
conjunction with benchmarking, Fort
Collins Utilities’ incentive programs
are designed to help prioritize capi-
tal improvements and deploy best
practices in energy efficiency. For
example, tracking a building’s perfor-
mance could lead a building owner
or facility manager to replace ineffi-
cient heating, ventilating and air-con-
ditioning systems with cost-saving,
energy-efficient units; or a building
energy score could motivate a build-
ing owner to invest in cost-effective
improvements to attract and retain
tenants. On the flip side, tenants can
use building energy scores to make
informed decisions about where to
rent.
• Benefiting investors. Benchmark-
ing services will help building own-
ers remain competitive as the real
estate sector and community-at-large
assign greater economic value to
energy efficiency. On average, for a
typical 20,000-square-foot commer-
cial building, the Efficiency Works
business upgrade projects reduce
annual energy expenses by 10 per-
cent. Utilities’ expanded efforts for
benchmarking and building energy
scores provide a free tool to help
prioritize energy-efficiency upgrades
that maintain a competitive edge in
the rental market, while also provid-
ing comfortable, efficient rental units
for their occupants.
• Utility expense affordability. As
median apartment rental costs in
Fort Collins near $1,400 per month,
utility expenses increasingly are an
important financial variable for many
residents. This is particularly impor-
tant in a community where nearly 50
percent of all residents are renters.
Potential tenants are interested in
reducing their total monthly hous-
ing expenses, and lower energy costs
are an important component in their
rental decision-making process −
especially so for low- and moderate-
income households. BES initiatives
will, over time, improve the energy
performance for tenants, allowing
LMI households in Fort Collins to
reap the benefits of energy efficiency
for their families.
• Generating clean energy jobs. Effi-
ciency programs at the city of Fort
Collins have helped support the
broad, market-based shift underway
in Colorado and across the United
States toward a clean-energy econo-
my. Our energy and climate policies
have led to ongoing, established pro-
grams and services that support effi-
ciency improvements for homes and
businesses. The approach taken by
city leadership around climate action
has not only helped Fort Collins
reduce its carbon footprint by 12 per-
cent since 2005, but also has contrib-
uted to the creation of an estimated
2,365 clean energy jobs in Larimer
County. In addition, city-supported
energy-efficiency and solar programs
alone supported an estimated 191
jobs in Fort Collins.
As the city progresses toward its
climate goals, energy efficiency not
only will reduce carbon emissions
and save money for residents and
businesses, but also will stimulate
local innovation, entrepreneurship
and job creation. Our investment in
automated benchmarking, utility
data access and building energy scor-
ing initiatives is a key component
of achieving these triple bottom line
outcomes.
Kevin Gertig
Utilities executive
director, Fort
Collins Utilities
Working in
conjunction with
benchmarking, Fort
Collins Utilities’
incentive programs
are designed to help
prioritize capital
improvements and
deploy best practices
in energy efficiency.