BCC CASE STUDY: ENERGY EFFICIENCY

History of Sustainability
In 2007 the Bank of New York merged with Mellon Financial Corporation to form BNY Mellon. One significant action their board took was to create a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) committee, which generated BNY Mellon’s first CSR report at the end of 2007. In the report was a section titled “Supporting a Sustainable Environment,” where the company published its Environmental Sustainability Statement and Commitments.

Approach - "Building Sustainability.”
In BNY Mellon’s first CSR report, a set of sustainability-related goals was established for 2008. One of these goals was to “Target key facilities for sustainability improvement and inclusion in EPA ENERGY STAR and LEED certification programs.” Prior to this report the BNY Mellon Center in Everett, Massachusetts, had earned an ENERGY STAR designation for 6 years in a row. BNY Mellon recognized this building’s cost savings due to energy efficiency and saw it as an opportunity to improve other facilities in the company’s building stock.

Since a building’s ENERGY STAR rating is a key component of the LEED Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) certification, BNY Mellon developed a strategy to improve the sustainability of the company’s buildings. First, BNY Mellon determines each building’s ENERGY STAR rating. This gives the company a metric that shows how much energy a building is using and how much room there is for improvement. If a building falls short of earning the ENERGY STAR rating, BNY Mellon determines what work needs to be done to improve.

Because reductions in energy usage translate directly to bottom line savings, it makes sense to start with energy. After a building has earned the ENERGY STAR designation, BNY Mellon considers the building for LEED-EB. The LEED Certification encompasses a wider range of sustainability initiatives including transportation, water management, building materials, and waste streams.

This strategy allows BNY Mellon to focus first on making energy-related changes that will likely have the most significant payback, and then move on to more widespread greening initiatives. It also allows the company to gain recognition for ongoing improvements throughout the process, first with the ENERGY STAR award and later with LEED Certification. BNY Mellon continues to be acknowledged for the sustainability of its structures. The company currently has 10 buildings with ENERGY STAR awards covering 5.6 million square feet. Two of these buildings have earned LEED-EB Certification and three have earned LEED-CI Certification (LEED for Commercial Interiors).

Unique Projects

• Helped pilot ENERGY STAR for Data Centers.
  
• BNY Mellon’s building at 525 William Penn Place is the largest building in Pittsburgh to obtain the LEED EB Gold ranking to date.
  
• Purchased 1.1 million Renewable Energy Credits as part of a five-year investment in renewable energy—the equivalent to 225 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year.

Recommendations

• Save money and be recognized – Using tools like the LEED Standards and the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program can help your organization measure progress and identify savings
  
• Renewable Energy Credits - Reducing energy usage is always a priority, but for the energy your company does use, purchasing Renewable Energy Credits is a good way to show your company’s commitment to supporting the renewable energy industry.
  
• Maximize technology to manage and reduce energy usage
  • Variable Frequency Drives - these drives are able to adjust motor speeds for pumps and fans based on the level of demand.
  • Motion Sensors and Lighting Control Systems - these systems can be programmed to ensure lights are on only when needed.
    

Data

Bottom Line
61% of BNY Mellon’s total square footage has been awarded ENERGY STAR Certification, saving the company over $3 million per year in (avoided) energy costs.

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