How to Assess Green Building Performance

Gather the raw data. Use information from utility companies to gauge your water, electricity and sewer consumption. Document data from all energy sources. Assemble information such as energy bills and meter readings. Compile information on a regular basis and from as long ago as possible. For example, Energy Star recommends you compile at least two years of monthly data.

Define your success parameters. Currently, there is not an overall standard for assessing green building performance. Use widely accepted governmental benchmarks for green building such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or Energy Star standards to see how your building stacks up.

Establish a baseline. Select a base year. Use the most complete sets of data available. Determine normalizing factors, including climate, fuel choice, hours of operation, building size and energy cost. Publish these results within your company.

Benchmark your performance. Take into consideration historical data, the industry average, best-in-class performers and best practices. Track these performances over time. Conduct surveys within the company and industry-wide to identify energy-use leaders.

Analyze the data. Compare your performance with all available benchmarks to see how the building ranks environmentally. Identify peaks and valleys in energy usages. Get expert opinions from sources such as lighting, heating and utility experts.

Evaluate the data. Generate a detailed report noting specific steps that can be implemented to reduce power consumption. Estimate the added savings of proposed changes. Suggest identified best practices. Similarly, estimate the costs associated with the additions. Isolate high-cost energy drains and eliminate them, if possible.