Category Archives: Energy Efficiency

Salt Lake City Green Drinks + e2 Business Event

It’s the 4th annual Salt Lake City Green Drinks + e2 Business event! The event will take place Wednesday, February 24th from 6:00pm-9:00pm at Cytybyrd Cafe and Restaurant in the City & County Building, 451 S State Street, Salt Lake City.

6:00 pm: Mingle and Network
Meet and greet with e2 businesses, have a drink and enjoy some light fare from Cytybyrd.

7:00 pm: Get Your Green Learn On! Learn about the e2 Business program from Peter Nelson and hear from Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski.

All are encouraged to bike, ride UTA or walk to the event. The City & County Building is easily accessible from either the Library or Courthouse TRAX stations.

*$5-$10 requested donation

Salt Lake City’s e2 Business program is dedicated to helping Salt Lake’s business community run in a more environmentally and economically sustainable manner. The e2 Business program is entirely funded and managed by the City. Participation is free to any business located within Salt Lake City limits.

Salt Lake City Green Drinks chapter typically meets once a month and is an informal networking opportunity for people interested in sustainability to get together & talk “green.” If you’d like to receive invitations to events as a member of SLC Green Drinks, please email slcgreendrinks2@gmail.com to be added to the email list.

Salt Lake City Partners with Utilities to Improve Building Energy Efficiency

Last Friday, Salt Lake City was recognized by The White House and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for its efforts to unlock access to energy data for building owners and improve energy efficiency.

Since 2013, Salt Lake City has partnered with both Rocky Mountain Power and Questar to provide whole-building energy data access to building owners through the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Tool. The effort, which is on track for completion in 2017, will ensure effortless energy data management for building owners, providing a complete picture as to building energy use and enabling them to employ more responsive strategies.

“Salt Lake City, Rocky Mountain Power and Questar are working together to help building owners understand how their building is operating and to identify opportunities to improve energy management,” says Vicki Bennett, sustainability director for Salt Lake City. “By automating and streamlining the process, more Salt Lake City building owners will be able to improve energy efficiency – ultimately saving energy, money and emissions.”

Salt Lake City is committed to improving air quality, and buildings play an important role in emissions. The most recent data from the Utah Division of Air Quality show that 39% of existing air pollution comes from area sources (i.e. homes and businesses). This percentage is expected to increase significantly over the next 20 years as vehicles become more efficient, making building energy efficiency efforts more and more important.

Last week, Mayor Jackie Biskupski extended an invitation to leading industry experts to share their ideas and best practices for energy efficiency in buildings, as part of the Elevate Buildings process.

“There is nothing more important than the air we breathe, and working to clear our skies is a top priority of my administration,” says Mayor Biskupksi. “By collaborating with industry experts we will help improve air quality through increased energy efficiency our city’s largest buildings.”

Learn more about Salt Lake City’s efforts to cut energy waste in buildings at SLCgov.com/ProjectSkyline.

U.S. Green Building Council Announces Utah is 10th State in the Nation for LEED Green Building

Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released its national ranking of the top states in the country for LEED green building and Utah is the 10^th state in the nation for 2015. The rankings come at an important time for states looking to reduce their energy use. LEED-certified spaces use less energy and water resources, save money for families, businesses and taxpayers, reduce carbon emissions and create a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.

“Utah is a nationwide leader in green building and LEED certification. LEED creates jobs and increases opportunities for Utah’s workers and businesses while contributing billions of dollars to the state’s economy,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair of USGBC. “LEED has become an essential standard for the transformation of building design and construction. LEED certified buildings drive economic growth, creates jobs and makes communities healthier.”

The annual ranking is developed by analyzing each state in terms of square feet of LEED certified space per state resident. Now in its sixth year, the list highlights states throughout the country that made significant strides in sustainable building design, construction and transformation throughout 2015. Utah certified 31 projects representing 4,494,301 square feet of real estate, or 1.63 square feet per resident, in 2015.

“We are thrilled to have Utah businesses and institutions recognized in this way for the first time,” said Daniel Pacheco, executive director, USGBC-Utah Chapter. “This achievement affirms not only USGBC Utah’s mantra that where you live, learn, work and worship matters, but also that partners are taking sustainable concepts to heart as we develop healthy buildings for everyone in Utah.”

In addition, data from USGBC’s 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study show LEED construction is expected to support 23,000 total jobs in Utah and have a total impact on GDP of $1.97 billion from 2015-2018.

A few notable projects that certified in Utah in 2015 include:

Salt Lake City Public Safety Building; LEED Platinum
S. District Courthouse, Salt Lake City; LEED Gold
University of Utah Football Center; LEED Silver
Ballet West; LEED Gold

The full ranking of the top 10 states for 2015 includes:

Rank	State	Projects certified in 2015	Square feet LEED certified in 2015	Per-capita square footage
1	Illinois	161	43,979,595	3.43
2	Maryland	127	17,659,881	3.06
3	Massachusetts	112	19,850,624	3.03
4	Washington	101	17,450,321	2.60
5	Colorado	95	12,218,992	2.43
6	Nevada	30	6,534,960	2.42
7	California	618	87,358,563	2.34
8	Texas	237	52,445,321	2.09
9	Virginia	121	13,005,968	1.63
10	Utah	31	4,494,301	1.63
*	Washington, D.C.	84	11,612,237	19.30

*Washington, D.C., is not ranked as it is a federal district, not a state.

Collectively, 1,633 commercial and institutional projects became LEED certified within the Top 10 States in 2015, representing 274.9 million square feet of real estate. Worldwide, 4,837 projects were certified in 2015, representing 818.9 million square feet. Nearly 75,000 projects representing 14.4 billion square feet of space have been LEED-certified to date.

USGBC calculates the list using per-capita figures as a measure of the human element of green building. This also allows for fair comparisons among states with significant differences in population and number of buildings.