Energy savings start with benchmarking, team-led audits, expert says

By educating staff on how small changes and regular maintenance to systems can impact energy, facility teams can improve efficiency without costly upgrades, according to a sustainability director at ESFM.

By Joe Burns • Updated May 22, 2025

IFMA adds its name to Energy Star fight

Facility managers rely on the program for making informed decisions about commercial appliances and building systems, the group says.

By Robert Freedman • May 14, 2025

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Leveraging energy efficiency to create asset value

By optimizing building and systems efficiency, facilities managers can move beyond saving money to become value creators.  

By Facilities Dive staff

LEED v5 – now released – increases focus on indoor environment, worker safety

The new version streamlines decarbonization targets and accounts for indoor air quality, continuous monitoring and maintenance staff safety, USGBC’s director of existing buildings says.

By Joe Burns • May 13, 2025

To save money, building owners should treat energy standards as a floor, not a ceiling

Projects to make their facilities more efficient are an opportunity for owners to use sustainability goals to drive long-term business value.

By Christy Martell • May 9, 2025

DOE pauses energy standards for federal buildings

The one-year stay gives the agency a chance to see if the Biden-era rule aligns with the priority the Trump administration is putting on fossil fuels, officials said.

By Robert Freedman • May 8, 2025

How campus investments in digital buildings can fund future sustainability projects

Smart building and campus energy management systems helped the University of Wyoming move past its “spreadsheet from hell” and Georgia Institute of Technology qualify for a $214,000 utility rebate.

By Brian Martucci • May 7, 2025

Composting program turns cafeteria scraps to brown gold

Ohio University processes more than five tons of food waste every day into soil amendments it uses on campus. But it’s had to rethink parts of the program, the school’s sustainability director says.

By Joe Burns • May 6, 2025

How Extra Space Storage is using solar to make money from its rooftops

The company’s solar project manager walks through what factors determine if a roof is suited to solar panels, whether for the building’s own energy or for a leasing opportunity.

By Robert Freedman • May 5, 2025

Energy-as-a-service agreements and energy savings performance contracts: What’s the difference?

Both models can provide energy efficiency upgrades with no upfront costs, but asset ownership is one point on which they diverge.

By Joe Burns • May 1, 2025

How to get HVAC replacement to pay for itself

A champion of energy service companies offers a reminder of their role in making large-scale retrofits cost-effective.

By Robert Freedman • April 29, 2025

Connecticut prisons complete solar project, $11M in energy savings projected

The 8.3-MW system is privately owned, so the state prison agency had to put up no money and is taking none of the financial risk, the Connecticut Green Bank says.

By Robert Freedman • April 28, 2025

New Titans stadium brings electrical, mechanical systems into a single command center

By pulling electrical and mechanical systems data into a centralized control center and seeing power consumption in real-time, operators will be able to improve energy efficiency before the stadium opens, Schneider Electric says.   

By Joe Burns • April 23, 2025

How LeFrak used a rooftop solar array to reduce CO2

Community relations head Charles Burton explains how 450 solar panels at a property in Jersey City, New Jersey, offset the property’s common area emissions by 13%

By Mary Salmonsen • April 15, 2025

Organizations prioritize sustainability, but they’re slowed by manual data processes

A slowdown in federal sustainability mandates is pushing building operators to focus on reduction initiatives, Atrius says.

By Joe Burns • April 14, 2025

Brockton, Mass., leverages energy savings contract to preserve, improve two historic buildings

New window, lighting and HVAC systems aim to reduce energy and improve air quality, including in one building that has been unusable in extreme weather. 

By Joe Burns • April 11, 2025

Denver adds flexibility to building performance guidelines

Following public input, including some backlash from building owners, the new rules will push back compliance deadlines, remove electrification report requirements and reduce penalty rates, the city says. 

By Joe Burns • April 9, 2025

Daikin, Poppy partner to accelerate building ventilation rate testing

Adding Poppy’s real-time air-tracing and ventilation solutions to Daikin products and services can help buildings reduce energy costs and meet IAQ standards, the companies say. 

By Joe Burns • March 27, 2025

ACEEE scorecard shows nationwide improvement in state energy efficiency programs

Looking at emissions reduction goals far in advance can help align building capital planning budgets and deep energy retrofits, experts say.  

By Joe Burns • March 26, 2025

Schools earn a ‘D+’ for infrastructure

Many public school buildings are hitting their 50-year design life, requiring “comprehensive” upgrades and replacements to key facility systems.

By Naaz Modan • March 26, 2025

Building performance standards set to proliferate, evolve in 2025

State and local governments continue to develop building standards that draw on existing frameworks and implement new metrics for measuring performance. 

By Joe Burns • March 25, 2025

UAlbany decarbonization project to cut fossil fuel consumption 16%

With geothermal wells, heat recovery and chiller replacements, the university will be able to shut off its gas-fired boilers during the summer, it says.

By Joe Burns • March 24, 2025

Routine HVAC cleaning can lower energy use and help meet ventilation standards, study says

Cleaning can be a cost-effective tool for increasing occupant comfort and health and building energy efficiency, researchers from two universities found.

By Joe Burns • March 20, 2025

New York state offers $5M for existing building energy innovations

Providers that have already received federal, state, local or other incentive funds can receive up to $1 million to accelerate development of their energy efficiency solutions, the state energy research authority says.

By Joe Burns • March 17, 2025

Madison, Wis., benchmarking program to phase in smaller buildings

Continuous benchmarking and system tune-ups can help owners and operators reduce annual energy use and provide cities with necessary information for setting performance targets, experts say.

By Joe Burns • March 14, 2025

Occupancy-based controls found to cut energy use 22%

Implementing ceiling- and wall-mounted sensors connected to a building management system could pay for themselves in two years, a Schneider Electric paper says. 

By Joe Burns • March 12, 2025