Building Owner Offsets Base Electric Load with Renewable Energy Credits. Purchase is Part of Owner’s Green-Operation Program.

Owners of an 8-story, 160,000-sq-ft renovated office building focus on going green in all aspects of building operation, from energy efficiency, to equipment recycling, and even cleaning supplies. The philosophy has been carried out throughout 36 million sq ft of owned and managed space countrywide.

By Mike Larson

Owners of a renovated, 121-year-old building at 20 N. Michigan Ave. in downtown Chicago say it is among the city’s first commercial office buildings to offset 100% of its base electrical load with renewable energy credits (RECs) that support ecologically friendly power production. In this case, the RECS help support a wind farm in Oklahoma.

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A building’s “base electrical load” is the power needed to run functions and areas used by all tenants, such as air handling, elevators, hallways, and lobbies, as well as shared bathrooms and meeting rooms.

The 160,000-sq-ft building’s co-owner and manager, U.S. Equities, purchased the RECs through 3Degrees, a San Francisco climate-solution company that specializes in providing “Green-e Certified” renewable-energy certificates nationwide.

“By purchasing energy RECs, a building owner helps support an energy producer that uses renewable sources like wind, solar, or biomass,” says Steve McDougal of 3Degrees. “It shows an owner’s commitment to environmentally focused building operation,” he adds.

Each REC that U.S. Equities purchases equals one megawatt-hour of electricity, or about as much as 139 average U.S. homes use in a year.

The company says that purchasing the RECs to support wind-generated electricity will keep more than 2.3 million lb of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.

“Buildings use 70% of the electricity produced in the U.S.,” says Sundee Wislow, U.S. Equities’ director of sustainability. “Considering that the creation of electricity is a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, it is essential that buildings maximize energy efficiency and use clean energy where possible.”

The building’s other owner and its largest tenant is ISMIE Mutual Insurance. Other large tenants are the Illinois State Medical Society and U.S. Equities, which is headquartered there.

Says U.S. Equities’ Wislow, “Since our company focuses on green operation in all the properties we own or manage, we felt our headquarters should stand as a prime example.”

RECs Part of Overall Green Program The renewable energy credits are just the crowning touch in U.S. Equities’ ongoing ecologically focused management program, which looks to improve both sustainability and financial results.

Jennifer Siragusa, U.S. Equities’ property manager for 20 N. Michigan, emphasizes that green sense, common sense, and economic sense all go together. “Sustainable initiatives don’t have to cost a lot. In fact, we look for the low- and no-cost improvements first.”

The company sets standard targets in five areas: energy efficiency, recycling, elimination of electronic waste, green cleaning, and making sure fixtures and faucets meet LEED water-usage goals.

U.S. Equities’ program of ongoing improvements at 20 North Michigan Ave. has brought results. The building has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy-Star rating two years in a row, ranking in the top 18% of all U.S. buildings for energy efficiency. U.S. Equities has submitted the building for the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Gold certification. The recycling program donated half a ton of used items to charity in its first month. And 0.5-gpm low-flow plumbing fixtures have cut water use by 40%, which has also saved on the electricity needed to pump and heat it.