BEEP 2.0 Course 5: Building the Business Case: Valuing Energy Enhancement Projects and Financial Returns

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Attendees will examine the use of financial metrics and tools to calculate and sell sustainability projects to owners, asset managers and tenants by highlighting the positive financial and environmental impacts of improved performance. Learn how to put energy efficiency in the context of what's important to financial decision-makers.

BOMA BEEP 2.0 courses are available for limited use (30 days after purchase). For an extended license please contact Pamela Colman at pcolman@boma.org.

Learning Objectives:

Define relevant financial metrics for energy efficiency improvements and explain how they are used for making business decisions.
Present a business case for EE improvements to management/ownership.
Understand a range of financing options to cover the cost of EE improvements.
Gain information on performance contracting including the BOMA Energy Performance Contract (BEPC).
Identify both financial and non-financial benefits.
Use standard financial metrics to communicate costs and savings.
Take advantage of standard reporting formats and tools.

Brenna Walraven

President & CEO, Corporate Sustainability Strategies, Inc.

Brenna is Founder and CEO of Corporate Sustainability Strategies, Inc (CSS). Brenna is the former Chairman of BOMA International and was a founding developer of the BOMA Energy Efficiency Program (BEEP), and the BOMA Energy Performance Contract (BEPC) model. Brenna has spoken nationally and internationally on topics of efficiency/sustainability, leadership, technology and the value of association membership/involvement.

She is an international leader in executing energy efficiency and sustainability strategies and satisfaction goals, she helped drive management leadership. With 25+ years experience in property operations, and through partnering with Energy Star, has learned how to successfully lead a national effort of improved energy management, efficiency and environmental stewardship.

USAA Real Estate Company was named Energy Star Partner of the Year for the category of Leadership in Energy Management for 12 straight years. Due to USAA Realco’s success in energy efficiency and environmental stewardship, Brenna was asked to serve on former Governor Schwarzenegger’s Real Estate Industry Leadership Council that served to help the public and private sector real estate in State of California reduce energy consumption and also serves on the Department of Energy and US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Steering Committee for the National Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance, now part of the DOE's Better Building Alliance. Under Brenna's leadership, USAA Real Estate Co has been recognized as a Green Star ranking in the top 5 for at least one fund in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB).

Deborah Cloutier

Principal, JDM Associates

Deb has been providing consulting services in commercial real estate, energy management, and environmental sustainability for more than 20 years. She currently supports the DOE Better Buildings Alliance as the commercial real estate expert interfacing with more than 60 leading real estate firms. She has extensive experience designing, developing, implementing, and managing sustainability programs in the built environment.

Currently, Deb manages multiple, large, complex contracts working with some of the largest national owners to assist them in making strategic environmental management a standard business practice – including TIAA-CREF, Principal Real Estate Investors, Prudential Real Estate Investors, UDR, NEEA, Bright House Networks, and CalPERS. Under her leadership, these clients have achieved energy savings of nearly $100 million since 2006, and consistently received industry and Federal recognition for their leadership in sustainability and energy efficiency.

Additionally, Deb has supported EPA’s ENERGY STAR program since its inception and helped EPA recruit more than four billion square feet of commercial real estate, K-12 schools, higher education, and state and local governments into the program. Deb began her career at the American Institute of Architects supporting the Committee on the Environment, where she served as liaison to architects and the general public regarding environmentally preferred building materials and environmentally friendly design, and had the distinct pleasure of supporting the Greening of the White House under the Clinton Administration.