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dedicated business specialists Local Community support Energy Efficiency rebates Custom Energy solutions

Energy efficiency is good for business in michigan. That’s why Consumers Energy is a proud sponsor of the michigan battle of the buildings 2016.

To learn what we can do for your business, call us at 800-805-0490, or visit ConsumersEnergy.com/businessmatters.

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APRIL 18, 2016 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS 3

BATTLE AGENDA Michigan Battle of the Buildings Award Ceremony & Energy Summit TIME

AGENDA/LOCATION

SPEAKER

8:30am - 9:00am

Registration & Breakfast

Exhibit Space Open

9:00am - 9:30am

Welcome Main Ballroom

Cheri Holman - Director | USGBC West Michigan

9:30am - 10:00am

Opening Keynote Main Ballroom

Garrick Rochow - Vice President | Consumers Energy

10:00am - 10:30am

Break

Exhibit Space Open

10:30am - 11:45am

Session I Choose A or B

A - Clean Energy Makes Sense B - Financing and Cash Rebates

11:45am - 12.15pm

Lunch

Exhibit Space Open

12:15pm - 1:00pm

Lunch Keynote Main Ballroom

Roger Curtis - President | Michigan International Speedway

1:00pm - 1:15pm

Break

Exhibit Space Open

1:15pm - 2:30pm

Session II Choose A or B

A - Lessons Learned B - Indoor Air Quality

2:30pm - 2:45pm

Break

Exhibit Space Open

2:45pm - 3:15pm

Awards Main Ballroom

Celebrate the 2015 Battle Competitors

3:15pm - 4:00pm

Closing Keynote Main Ballroom

State Rep. Aric Nesbitt - Chair | House Committee on Energy

Keynote Speakers CHERI HOLMAN

GARRICK J. ROCHOW

Cheri Holman is the Executive Director of the USGBC West Michigan Chapter, Director of the Grand Rapids 2030 District and the Michigan Battle of the Buildings.

Cheri is a LEED Accredited Professional with extensive experience and a genuine passion for energy & water conservation. Other areas of interest include indoor environmental quality, clean/renewable energy, access to healthy food and all things related to educating and promoting a healthy built environment.

Prior to her work in non-profit Cheri spent most of her career consulting & partnering with private sector corporations to reduce resource consumption within their facilities through the implementation of energy conservation technologies and improved operational practices.

Mrs. Holman is Past Chair of USGBC West Michigan Board of Directors after serving as Treasurer for 2 years. In early 2008 Cheri founded the LEED for Existing Building Advocacy Group. She served as a subject matter expert for the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) LEED for EB Operations and Maintenance test development in 2008 and the Commercial Reviewer exam test development in 2009. In 2010 & 2011 Cheri served as a Greenbuild conference session reviewer.

Mrs. Holman is a partner in Holman Heating & Cooling, a residential HVAC company based in Greenville, MI

Garrick J. Rochow is vice president of customer experience, rates and regulation, and quality and serves in the role of chief customer officer for CMS Energy and its principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy. He was named to this position in March 2015.

Rochow is responsible for overall customer experience and satisfaction. He also is responsible for budget planning, regulatory strategy, rate case preparation and proceedings and the company’s relationship with the Michigan Public Service Commission, as well as the company’s quality initiative.

Prior to his current role, Rochow served as Consumers Energy’s vice president of customer operations and quality since 2013.

From 2010 to 2013, Rochow served as vice president of energy delivery for Consumers Energy. In this role, he was responsible for the engineering and planning of the company’s electric and natural gas distribution systems. He led the development and execution of plans to maintain, upgrade and expand the distribution systems, and

oversaw low- and-high voltage electric distribution, forestry, electrical system control and monitoring, gas pipeline integrity, gas metering and regulation, and gas transmission, storage and compression.

He joined Consumers Energy in 2003 and has held several leadership positions, including combustion turbine business manager at the Zeeland generating facility, and site production manager at the Campbell Generating Complex. Rochow began his utility career as an environmental lead at the Holland Board of Public Works, served as a maintenance superintendent at that municipal utility and handled steam turbine and boiler outage responsibilities.

Rochow graduated from Michigan Technological University with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering and earned a master’s degree in business administration from Western Michigan University. He also has attended an Executive Education program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin School of Business.

ROGER CURTIS

ARIC NESBITT

Roger Curtis, president of Michigan International Speedway,a long-time veteran of motorsports administration. At the time of his appointment as the head of MIS in June 2006, Curtis had served as the vice president of Sales and Marketing at California Speedway, where he supervised the superspeedway’s advertising and promotions, sales and marketing, public relations and ticketing operations.

Before his time at California, Curtis, a native of Terre Haute, Ind., served as the senior director of Marketing and Sales at Richmond International Raceway. Prior to that, he was the director of Marketing and Sales at Watkins Glen International.

Curtis’ extensive motorsports resume is not limited to track administration. Involved in motorsports since 1991, he has owned his own motorsports marketing and communications company and has worked with Bobby Allison Motorsports, Bill Davis Racing and NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Bobby Dotter.

Curtis is a graduate of Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. Roger serves on the following Boards: Secretary, Lenawee Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Chamber, South Central Michigan Works, Michigan Travel Commission

Aric Nesbitt represents the 66th District in the Michigan House of Representatives. He was elected in November 2010 and serves as the House Majority Floor Leader and Chair of the House Committee on Energy.

Nesbitt graduated from Lawton High School in 1998. He earned a B.A. in Economics from Hillsdale College December 2001 and later earned his Masters in International Business from Norwegian School of Economics.

Aric has been active in public service from an early age. He is a former Member of the Van Buren County Republican Executive Committee, served as Republican Precinct Delegate, was a Delegate to the Michigan Republican State Convention, deployed by the Republican Party to various state and national legislative races. He volunteered on former State Representatives Mary Ann Middaugh’s first campaign and worked on Senator Tom George’s past campaigns.

APRIL 18, 2016 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS 5

ENERGY SUMMIT TO HONOR, CONGRATULATE ‘BIGGEST LOSERS’ This year’s Energy Summit, which will be held on April 22, will congratulate and honor the 2015 Michigan Battle of the Buildings program “Biggest Losers.”

These building owners and operators will be recognized for their exemplary energy reductions but in truth, all of the 2015 competitors have a reason to celebrate; they saved money for their organizations and reduced their carbon footprint.

In all, 28.5 million square feet of Michigan real estate threw their hat in the ring during the 2015 calendar year. That’s more than double the amount of building square footage that competed in 2014. The growth of competition year over year speaks to the dedication of Michigan building owners on their commitment to reduce the amount of energy they consume when operating their buildings.

These competitors have participated in networking and education events that

give them a glimpse into their peer’s building operation practices and helps everyone to gain better insight into the possibilities of energy reduction without compromising building comfort or production.

Among these competitors, benchmarking remains an essential energy management tool. All Michigan Battle of the Building competitors are required to use the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Portfolio Manager® platform to report building energy consumption during the competition. This valuable tool helps building operators better understand how their building is operating when compared to others, and also establishes a baseline so they can track energy improvements over time.

The numbers speak for themselves; in 2015, the Michigan Battle of the Buildings competitors decreased a combined total of more than 175 billion British Thermal Units

(BTUs) and lowered CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) in greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 16,000 metric tons.

This is the equivalent of taking 3,348 passenger cars off of the road for a year.

It’s an honor to host the program and report the impact of our Michigan building owners towards a better energy future. They have worked hard to get to this point and they know their journey continues as technology evolves and new ideas develop, which uncover new ways to operate buildings using less natural resources.

The Michigan Battle of the Buildings program was pleased to accept the Governor’s Energy Excellence Award for “Best Communication or Education Program” in 2015. This award is shared with the countless people who gave – and continue to give – their time and expertise to ensure the value of the program is seen and felt throughout the state.

“Consumers Energy is supporting building owners across Michigan by helping them reduce their energy use and save money,” said Amy Glapinski, program manager for Consumers Energy, a title partner of the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program. “Partnering with the U.S. Green Building Council and Battle of the Buildings, Consumers Energy is committed to assisting customers to utilize valuable resources like ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager benchmarking to help them achieve their energy efficiency goals, and, ultimately, reduce their energy use.”

These utility rebate programs continue to give momentum to facility teams that are eager to get their projects approved.

“Since 2009, DTE Energy has provided more than 15,000 business customers in Michigan with rebates that have lowered the upfront cost of installing energy efficiency equipment,” said Julie Maher with DTE Energy, a

EXHIBITORS

title partner in the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, in a statement. “These rebates help make improvements affordable and yield energy savings that businesses can add to their bottom line over the lifetime of the equipment. We’re glad to offer a variety of gas and electric programs along with information to help our businesses get the most out of their energy dollar.

We care about our customers and want to help them manage their energy use so they can be successful. It’s good for the state and the Michigan consumer.”

The 2016 Michigan Battle of the Buildings competition is already underway, more than doubling in size from 2015 to 64.5 million square feet of building space.

Will you be the next biggest loser?

Cheri Holman, LEED AP Executive Director U.S. Green Building Council West Michigan

6 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS APRIL 18, 2016

St. Clair County Community College M-TEC Building • 1ST PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN EDUCATION CATEGORY St. Clair County Comm-unity College (SC4) is a two-year community college located in Port Huron, Michigan and serves as the primary center of higher education in the Blue Water area. The college has grown from a one-building school to a 25-acre, nine-building campus serving thousands of students each year.

As a leader in sustainable building concepts, St. Clair County Community College has implemented multiple energy reduction efforts in the past years.

“SC4 has made improving energy efficiency a priority for several years,” said Kirk Kramer, vice president of administrative services. “There has been a focus on improving facilities systems through mechanical upgrades to reduce operating energy costs, as well as small-scale educational efforts through wind energy, solar panel power, bioswales, and green roof projects.”

Recently, those energy reduction efforts have been visible within the MTEC building and will earn them first place in the ‘Education’ category of the competition.

The MTEC building opened in August of 2001 and has served multiple purposes for the college. It is St. Clair County Community College’s newest

building located in the northeast corner of campus, and is used by thousands of people in the community.

Throughout the course of 2015, the MTEC building saw a 31.93 percent reduction in energy use. According to Kramer, vice president of administrative services, the approach to do so was multifaceted.

“There have been equipment and systems upgrades, building schedule adjustments, energy habit awareness, and education of staff and faculty,” Kramer said. “Just one tactic alone could not have provided such a large savings. We believe it is our whole approach to making our buildings and people energy efficient. The efforts of our staff, faculty, and students have been very valuable.”

This was the first year that St. Clair County Community College has participated in the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, but has found benefit from it.

“Being part of the competition gives us an opportunity to generate awareness of our efforts and network with other like-minded competitors to implement strategies with faculty and staff to make a difference,” Kramer said. “It provided us with an opportunity to be competitive and achieve a savings level that is recognizable.”

The college also participated in networking events provided by the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, including the 2015 Energy Summit and Portfolio Manager training sessions.

“The Energy Summit provided a wealth of ideas to bring back to our college for exploration and implementation,” Kramer said. “We developed messaging that is communicated bi-weekly to staff, faculty, and students, and complete weekly energy audits using a checklist for every building.”

Kramer said that this effort helped St. Clair County Community College identify energy inefficiencies and correct them, as well as identify areas where energy habit awareness can be adjusted.

“We have been making a concentrated effort as a campus to reduce energy costs and be conscious of our usage and the maintenance of our systems, so it is very exciting and gratifying to receive this award,” Kramer said. “It will show our staff, faculty, and students that the efforts they are making in energy habit awareness will make a difference. This is something to be proud of and something we could not have achieved without the efforts of our whole college team.

Holland Public Schools Holland High School • 2ND PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN EDUCATION CATEGORY Holland Public Schools is a K-12 school district located in Holland, Michigan. Founded in 1848, the school system offers instruction in core curriculum along with other programs, including art, music, athletics, theater, forensics, K-12 Spanish, technology literacy, special education, English as a Second Language, and extra-curricular activities.

In May of 2010, the City of Holland passed two bond measures: the first was aimed at furnishing and equipping new buildings, as well as upgrading technology at various buildings throughout the school system while the second was aimed at re-equipping two former elementary schools and a K-7 building, as well as upgrading technology.

According to Brett Roach, director of facilities, transportation, and safety for Holland Public Schools, the school system spent $73 million on renovations to their buildings, and one of the primary focuses was

on sustainability.

“We installed a new roof, new doors, and new windows to make sure we had a good [building] envelope,” Roach said. “We focused on energyefficient products and then moved on to updated controls.

We are now focusing on behavior in areas [where] technology does not do the work.”

Holland Public Schools has contracted with Midwest Energy Group to help monitor and document energy use in all of their building, Roach said. Their primary goal is to use that benchmark point and continued monitoring of water, gas, and electric use to address irregularities to find improvements moving forward.

The building that saw the largest decrease in energy use was Holland High School, with a total reduction of 10.62 percent during 2015. This reduction was enough to earn them second place in the competition’s ‘Education’ category.

“We have done no construc-

tion in the last year, so most of the efficiencies have been through behavior and refinement,” Roach said. “We have created a control system that allows us to have all buildings in ‘unoccupied mode’ on snow days or when no classes are happening. We created this through Midwest Energy Group based on [our] need to shut buildings down at a moments notice.”

“It is quite an honor for us to receive any award for sustainability,” Roach said. “It is validation that we are going in the right direction and that the work we have completed has paid off. We credit the community, staff, and students for their work in helping [to] provide an environment of energy savings.”

APRIL 18, 2016 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS 7

The Meanwhile Bar & The Pyramid Scheme • 1ST & 2ND PLACE BIGGEST LOSERS IN ENTERTAINMENT CATEGORY Most businesses first look to survive their first year and then focus on developing green practices as time goes by. But this was not the case for Tami VandenBerg, who has always had a propensity to pursue sustainable activities.

When VandenBerg and her brother opened The Meanwhile Bar in 2007 and The Pyramid Scheme in 2011, they immediately started implementing green policies.

“We have recycled every liquor bottle that we have ever used,” VandenBerg stated proudly.

VandenBerg, who is also the executive director of Well House, was approached in 2014 about her interest in a government program to support the installation of solar panels. While Well House was not a good fit for the program at the time, it was perfect for The Meanwhile Bar and The Pyramid Scheme.

The solar panels were installed and became functional at The Pyramid Scheme in the spring of 2014 and at The Meanwhile Bar by the end of summer 2014. During the 2015 competition these venues enjoyed a reduction in their source EUI (Energy Utilization Index) of 20.67 percent at The Meanwhile Bar and 18.07 percent at the Pyramid Scheme.

This put them in first and second place respectively in the ‘Entertainment’ category.

This is the second year that VandenBerg entered her businesses into the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, and the second year that The Pyramid Scheme has been recognized as a biggest loser.

“Our results probably had a lot to do with getting a full

year with the solar panels up,” VandenBerg said, “but we have also completed other smaller projects too.”

Those smaller projects include outfitting both locations with LED bulbs, as well as cultural shifts among staff members.

“It can be a challenge to [get] everyone on board with these types of initiatives,” VandenBerg said, “but our leadership values green practices and that trickles down to our employees.”

Along with energy efficiency initiatives the establishments are also working toward zero waste. “I remember pulling the garbage a couple [of] years ago and it was all plastic straws and a pizza box,” VandenBerg said. “I knew there had to be a solution.”

You won’t find garbage cans in the restrooms of The Meanwhile Bar or The Pyramid Scheme. All garbage is brought to the bar and disposed of by the staff in either recycling or compost receptacles. The restrooms at both faculties also feature high-efficiency hand dryers to replace the mountains of paper towels that would quickly accumulate on busy evenings.

In order to properly maintain the amounts of compost, The Meanwhile Bar partnered with Bazzani Associates and The Pyramid Scheme has partnered with BarFly Ventures. Both partnerships prevent the accumulation of compost, especially since both facilities are located in downtown Grand Rapids.

These efforts have led to the community taking notice. Many patrons of The Meanwhile Bar and The Pyramid Scheme, according to VandenBerg,

have expressed how much they appreciate the efforts of both venues to have as little of a footprint as possible. The social media support has also been outstanding, VandenBerg said, with updates on green efforts often receiving the most interactions.

With their locations in historic buildings, future projects can be tough to identify, VandenBerg said.

“We will always continue to be green and get better at what we are doing,” she said. “I would like to try and get some more solar panels on the roof of The Pyramid Scheme. I think we have some room up there still.”

If VandenBerg was to open another location, energy savings would play a big role.

“I think we would take a serious look at that,” VandenBerg said. “Not every location is conducive for things like solar panels, so we would really want to consider that when selecting a location.”

Green efforts are more than an initiative for VandenBerg; they are a deep-seeded value she carries with everything she does.

“Being awarded again by Battle of the Buildings solidifies us as a leader on social issues like energy savings and going green,” VandenBerg said.

It is this type of leadership that VandenBerg hopes pushes her to the city commissioner position in the next election.

“I think our efforts and results in Battle of the Buildings shows that you can do good and make money at the same time,” VandenBerg said. “You don’t have to sacrifice one for the other.

2015 Energy Savings

Biggest Loser’s Combined Total

2015 =Energy Savings

15,901.8 metric tons of CO2e

2015 Energy Savings THIS IS EQUIVALENT TO: Biggest Loser’s Combined Total =

15,901.8 metric tons of CO2e

Competitors’ Combined Total = 15,901.8 metric tons of CO2e

Biggest Combined THISLoser’s IS EQUIVALENT TO: Total =

15,901.8 metric tons of CO2e Carbon sequestered from 13,034 acres of sequestered U.S. forestsCarbon in 1 year.

from 13,034 acres of U.S. forests in 1 year.

CO2 emissions from Greenhouse gas emissions 17,080,344 pounds of 37,861,429 miles THIS from IS EQUIVALENT TO: CO2 emissions fromburned.

Greenhouse coal driven bygas anemissions average 17,080,344 pounds of from 37,861,429 miles passenger vehicle. coal burned. driven by an average passenger vehicle.

Source: US Green Building Council of West Michigan Source: US Green Building Council of West Michigan

www.usgbcwm.org www.usgbcwm.org

8 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS APRIL 18, 2016

Muskegon County’s HealthWest Mental Health Center • 1ST PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN HEALTHCARE CATEGORY Muskegon County’s HealthWest John Halmond Center has undergone many changes over the years, according to Sara Damm, Sustainability Coordinator for Muskegon County.

The HealthWest Mental Health Center specializes in providing integrated healthcare for youth and adults with serious behavioral health challenges, developmental disabilities, and co-occurring substance use disorders.

The Michigan Battle of the Building program wasn’t an unfamiliar concept to Muskegon County; last year, the Muskegon Area Transit System (MATS) Louis A. McMurray Administration and Conference Center took home the energy reduction honors.

“The Michigan Battle of the Buildings [program] gave us a starting point to gather data that we hadn’t tracked previously, and compile it into a very manageable system,” Damm said.

“It was a great way to start the process of reducing our energy

usage and sharing our experiences along the way.”

Receiving the honors of first place in the ‘Healthcare’ category, the HealthWest Mental Health Center reduced its energy use by 4.42 percent in 2015. Damm credits this energy reduction to recently upgraded technology and management system control changes.

“We virtualized our server environment,” Steve Rozyski, Network System Manager at HealthWest, explained. “We used to have a very large server room that stored huge files regarding our network, our databases, and our internal e-mail system. All of this has been condensed, and we now use approximately one-sixth of the energy we used prior to the conversion that began in 2012.”

Dave Parnin, COO of HealthWest, said “most of the staff have switched from desktop computers to laptops, which use less energy.”

According to Damm, the facility also went through an energy audit in the spring of

2015 with Hurst Mechanical who performed the service free as a partner of the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program. Some updates included the process of re-commissioning Honeywell sensors and programming. Changes included setting the discharge air temperature to “Auto” instead of the manual override setting of 60 degrees, changing outdoor air dampers controls, and setting the economizers to operate when outdoor temperatures are under 75 degrees.

Through their concentrated efforts on energy reduction, the HealthWest Mental Health Center has seen savings of $13,695 for 2014 compared to 2015.

“Even with the minor changes that were made, reducing energy can be done with little investment” Damm said.

“We’re happy to be an example of how easy the process can be, and share our information with others. It’s always great when government gets recognized for the good things they do.”

Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial Hospital • 2ND PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN HEALTHCARE CATEGORY Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial Hospital is a 25-bed, just shy of 160,000 square foot, not-for-profit community hospital offering a complete range of medical and surgical services for the community of Fremont, Michigan.

The hospital was built in 1952 and has been expanded several times since then. Each time an expansion occurs, new systems are introduced which may or may not work well together. The team is currently working with Trane and the Consumers Energy Smart Buildings Program to re-commission the facility and put together a holistic approach to energy reduction. This will help Gerber prioritize future energy projects Brian Poll, facilities manager for Gerber said that “Placing second in the ‘Healthcare’ category of the 2015 Michigan Battle of the Buildings was quite unexpected.” He believes the replacement of the building chiller in June 2015 is one

contributing factor to their 1.53 percent reduction in energy last year.

Also important to energy management is the building management system (BMS) which allows the facilities team to monitor and shut down specific areas of the building when not in use.

In 2014 Gerber installed a 3000 square foot green, vegetative roof over the Emergency Department. The system provides storm water management, lower air temperatures above the roof (which reduces cooling load) and a habitat that promotes biodiversity.

Gerber is registered to compete in the 2016 Michigan Battle of the Buildings. “We have set a goal to reduce $30,000 in 2016” said Poll “We feel that is very achievable based on what we know now.” So far this year, the facility has replaced fluorescent lighting with new LED technology.

Gerber Memorial has a green team that meets monthly with

representation from all disciplines in the hospital.

As a leading health system, Spectrum Health understands the connection between environment and human health.

“The focus of our sustainability commitment is to improve human health, protect the natural environment and practice fiscal responsibility.” said Sarah Chartier, sustainability program manager for the Spectrum Health.

This is accomplished through responsible waste disposal, the protection of waterways and a robust energy management program that launched in 2009 and has saved Spectrum Health over $4 million dollars to date.

Impressive as this is, the team knows the work is not done and has set a goal to reduce 4.6 million kilowatt hours of electricity in fiscal year 2016. If this goal is reached, Spectrum Health will realize a savings of approx. $575,000.

IT’S AN HONOR TO HOST THE PROGRAM AND REPORT THE IMPACT OF OUR MICHIGAN BUILDING OWNERS TOWARDS A BETTER ENERGY FUTURE. THEY HAVE WORKED HARD TO GET TO THIS POINT AND THEY KNOW THEIR JOURNEY CONTINUES AS TECHNOLOGY EVOLVES AND NEW IDEAS DEVELOP, WHICH UNCOVER NEW WAYS TO OPERATE BUILDINGS USING LESS NATURAL RESOURCES. - CHERI HOLMAN, LEED AP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL WEST MICHIGAN

APRIL 18, 2016 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS 9

Nu-Wool Co., Inc. • 1ST PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN MANUFACTURING/INDUSTRIAL CATEGORY Nu-Wool Co, Inc. is a family owned company that has been around since 1949, making it the oldest cellulose insulation manufacturer in the United States.

Based out of Jenison, Michigan, Nu-Wool has a manufacturing facility that is approximately 85,000 square feet in size.

Nu-Wool’s Premium Cellulose Insulation is made from recycled paper and composed of over 85 percent recycled content. Their manufacturing facility converts 1.5 million pounds of paper per week into high-efficiency insulation material that can save building owners and homeowners up to 40 percent on their utility bills. Even though Nu-Wool has made efforts to go paperless in its offices, any office waste that is produced goes directly into its manufacturing processes to become part of the cellulose insulation.

“Because our insulation is made from recycled paper and one of the greenest on the market, we are moving our efforts to insure our manufacturing process is green as possible” said

Matt Henderson, vice president of operations at Nu-Wool, “but we believe that we can make our manufacturing processes greener.”

Nu-Wool has done just that.

In the company’s first year competing in Michigan Battle of the Buildings, it finds its name on the top of a very competitive ‘Manufacturing/Industrial’ category with an 11.06 percent reduction in energy use.

Nu-Wool has not completed any large capital energy projects to reduce its kilowatt hours but attributes its energy loss to two factors: its team and the little things.

“This really has been a team effort,” Henderson said. “All [of] the guys on the manufacturing floor have had to work to make this happen.”

Partnered with Midwest Energy Group, Nu-Wool has been able to identify small changes that added up to a lot of energy savings, including: checking air compressors for leaks to ensure they are working optimally; turning off unnecessary light fixtures; and

making sure that paper shredders were not overloaded during the manufacturing process to prevent energy spikes. These small efforts added up to a lot of savings and Nu-Wool has saved a little over $21,000 in energy costs from decreased electrical usage over the last year.

Henderson said that Nu-Wool continuously looks for ways to work to improve the facility’s operational efficiency.

“Knowing that we have a product that is green, helps save energy, has a green manufacturing process and is green for its lifetime is very rewarding,” Henderson said.

Innotec Life Spaces Division • 2ND PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN MANUFACTURING/INDUSTRIAL CATEGORY Innotec is all about innovation; after all, it’s in their name.

The company launched as an automotive supplier in 1992 and expanded its manufacturing to include a furniture components division in early 2000.

That is the primary function of the Suite 200 building, which will be taking home the second place trophy for the Biggest Loser in the ‘Manufacturing/ Industrial’ category of the 2015 Michigan Battle of the Buildings program with a 10.89 percent reduction in building-wide energy use.

“We are happy and surprised to be receiving this award,” said Nic Berkanpas, engineer and lead environmental coordinator for the Suite 200 building.

“It creates momentum behind energy and resource management for Innotec.”

This was Innotec’s first year competing in the program and all four of their buildings performed well.

“Several things contributed to the energy reduction at the Suite 200 building,” said Ryan Smith, engineer and environmental management lead for Innotec.

Perhaps the largest contributing factor of the project was the retrofit of a 100-horsepower air compressor into two 50-horsepower air compressors staged as primary and secondary. The primary air compressor incorporates a variable frequency drive (VFD), which allows the motor

to run at lower speeds, matching demand.

A full air leak audit was also performed, which was paid for by the utility incentive program and Innotec repaired all of the leaks detected during the audit.

According to Smith, Innotec’s path to energy reduction began a few years ago.

“Our commitment to energy reduction really started in early 2014 with concentrations on occupant behavior and a combination of big and small

projects,” he said. “The company has seen an annual savings of approximately $150,000 per year.”

Innotec is looking at future energy conservation measures, including geothermal and solar energy, and upgrading to LED lighting in the high bay fixtures.

Smith added that the company has plans on competing in the 2016 Michigan Battle of the Buildings program and is looking forward to the challenge.

CE L E B RAT ING 8 0 Y E A RS

WE ARE PROUD TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR OUR EFFORTS IN 2015 AND ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO COMPETING AGAIN IN 2016. enichols.com

10 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS APRIL 18, 2016

Parker Hannifin FSC Division Headquarters • 1ST PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN MIXED USE CATEGORY “Automation.”

That’s the one word that Anil Verma, manufacturing support engineer and division energy leader at Parker Hannifin, used to describe how the Parker Hannifin Fluid System Connectors Division Headquarters and manufacturing facility earned a top spot in the 2015 Michigan Battle of the Buildings program.

In fact, the facility took first place in the ‘Mixed-Use’ building category with a 6.42 percent energy reduction in 2015.

“We are proud to be a 2015 winner of Michigan Battle of the Buildings,” Verma said. “We are pleased to see our employees be engaged in energy conservation and they proactively bring forth ideas.”

The Fluid System Connectors Division (FSC Division) is located in Otsego, Michigan, and this particular facility sits at 197,258 square feet of office, manufacturing and related activities.

Parker Hannifin encourages all divisions to form a green

high performance team to work on reducing energy, water, and waste, and to implement other sustainable features. According to Verma, these teams solicit employee input and have found that when they implement something good in some areas of the building, it isn’t long before employees in other areas of the building are asking for it too.

Another way Parker Hannifin engages employees is by including them in on the research of a potential project. The example Verma used included a lighting audit; they bring the employees in that area of the facility into the conversation, hand them the equipment to perform a lighting audit, and the employees help make decisions on standardizing lighting levels.

The company typically uses a return on investment of one year to evaluate a project, and they always take advantage of incentives offered by utility companies, Verma said.

Several of the key contrib-

uting projects to the facility’s 2015 energy reduction included changing task lighting from T8 and T12 fluorescent fixtures to LED technology with LED drives versus ballasts. This has eliminated flickering and buzzing and has produced reduced maintenance time and better quality light.

Surge protectors with occupancy sensors are now being utilized in the office, and the facility has standardized cubicle heaters; a 400-watt unit is allowed, which is also controlled by a surge strip. When employees are not at their work space for an extended period of time, everything shuts down, with an exception of the employee’s computer.

According to Verma, the Parker Hannifin FSC Division is already registered to participate in this year’s Battle of the Buildings program.

“There is always more work to be done,” he said.

DeVos Convention Center • 2ND PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN MIXED USE CATEGORY DeVos Place, a 300,000-squarefoot campus located in the heart of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a multipurpose convention center featuring a 162,000-squarefoot, column-free exhibit hall, a 40,000-square-foot ballroom, and 26 individual meeting rooms totaling 32,000 square feet. Twelve spacious loading docks – with a wash bay and marshaling area – allow for easy access to the exhibit hall.

If you live in or near Grand Rapids, there’s a good chance you’ve attending a performance or event at DeVos Place, but have you ever considered the amount of energy used in such a large mixed-use space?

According to Eddie Tadlock, assistant general manager with SMG, who manages both DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena, taking second place in the ‘Mixed-Use’ category for the 2015 Michigan Battle of the Buildings program was very unexpected.

“This has been a gradual journey, and kudos to our staff for embracing and being proactive at thinking through the ways energy is used in our facil-

ity and trying to reduce that use,” Tadlock said.

In 2015, which was their first year competing in the program, DeVos Place reduced their building energy use by 6.03 percent.

One of the projects that contributed to the reduction included converting more than 400 parking garage light fixtures from fluorescent to LED technology. They also replaced four of six air handling units for the building and changed exit signs to LED lighting. “It all adds up” said Tadlock.

Another project included the replacement of automatic flush valves in 50 mens restroom stalls from battery power to solar power and they adjusted the auto-flush feature (for sanitation & cleanliness purposes) from every 24 hours to every 48 hours.

Water for any use in commercial buildings uses energy in the process, so not only did this reduce water usage, it also saved energy. A bonus was the elimination of the cost of batteries, disposal, and labor.

Tadlock said that DeVos Place takes advantage of the

incentives available from their utility companies, and that is factored in when evaluating their return on investment for potential energy projects.

DeVos Place and SMG have been recognized for their sustainability work in the past, and the facility has been named a Michigan Green Venue and by the Grand Rapids Downtown Alliance.

DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena are both members of the new 2030 Energy District that recently formed in Grand Rapids, pledging to collectively reduce energy, water, and emissions from transportation by 50 percent by 2030. Tadlock serves as a vice chair of the 2030 District Leadership Council and also serves on the Grand Rapids Sustainable Partnership Leadership Team.

DeVos Place is managed by SMG. Founded in 1977, SMG provides management services to more than 220 public assembly facilities including convention and exhibition centers, arenas, stadiums, theaters, performing arts centers, equestrian facilities, science centers and a variety of other venues.

THE NUMBERS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES; IN 2015, THE MICHIGAN BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS COMPETITORS DECREASED A COMBINED TOTAL OF MORE THAT 175 BILLION BRITISH THERMAL UNITS (BTU’S) AND LOWERED CO2E (CARBON DIOXIDE EQUILAVENT) IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY NEARLY 16,000 METRIC TONS. THIS IS THE EQUIVALENT OF TAKING 3,348 PASSENGER CARS OFF OF THE ROAD FOR A YEAR. - CHERI HOLMAN, LEED AP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL WEST MICHIGAN

APRIL 18, 2016 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS 11

Hollander Development Corporation Valley View III • 1ST PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN MULTI FAMILY CATEGORY Hollander Develop-ment Corporation has been serving communities throughout the state of Michigan since 1979.

They specialize in the development of affordable, high-quality apartment communities for families and seniors.

This is Hollander Development Corporation’s first year competing in the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, but sustainability has been ingrained in their business practices for years. The corporation is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, and its portfolio includes multiple LEED certifications.

With its decrease in energy use, Holland Development Corporation’s Valley View III took first place in the ‘Multi-Family’ category with a total reduction of 8.44 percent. According to Matthew Hollander, vice president of Hollander Development Corporation this equaled a

savings of 17 percent and just under $4,000 “We look at this award as a great start to a new chapter in our company’s history,” Hollander said “We’re already hard at work on other projects and hope to be a strong competitor again in the 2016 Michigan Battle of the Buildings”.

Hollander believes the key to a successful project is an early recognition that the building is an interconnected system.

“Our team worked hard during design to identify measures which would deliver long-term savings rather than focusing solely on short-term payback,” he said. “We also considered non-energy benefits, such as a reduction in the maintenance time needed to replace light bulbs and improvements to building occupant comfort.”

Valley View III was the first to enroll in a pilot project for low income, multi family properties offered by Consumers

Energy. A free energy audit performed by Michigan Energy Options helped to develop a comprehensive scope of work and implement it into the building. In addition to the Valley View III property the program has helped 64 other property owners, representing over 4,000 residential units in Michigan.

According to Hollander, it was managed as a single project. Some of the improvements made to Valley View III included upgraded lighting, attic insulation and retrofits to the existing boiler system.

According to Hollander, Valley View III received over $3,000 in rebates for the project.

Looking forward, Hollander Development Corporation has an energy reduction goal in mind of reducing weather-normalized energy consumption by 10 percent and water by 20 percent by the year 2021.

River House at Bridgewater Place • 2ND PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN MULTI FAMILY CATEGORY River House at Bridgewater Place Condominiums has become a staple against the Grand Rapids, Michigan skyline. The building has 34 stories, 205 residential units, and is the tallest all-residential building in Michigan.

The mission of River House is to create and sustain its facilities as the premier residential community in downtown Grand Rapids and aims to maximize owners’ value by managing a customer oriented, cost effective, safe, and efficient property.

Although the Robert Grooters Development Co. project was completed in 2008, the residents have continued to strive to improve operational efficiency.

This is the second time in two years that River House has placed in the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, placing second in the ‘Multi-Family’ category in 2015 with a 4.17 reduction in energy use.

River House resident Mark Holzbach learned of competition back in 2014 and proposed it to the board of directors. With the support of the board and several key players he was able to obtain the util-

ity bills and get the buildings’ energy use benchmarked in EnergyStar® Portfolio Manager.

Scott Russell, a current board director at Bridgewater Place Condominium Association was handed the reins back in 2015.

“It’s a nice achievement to just be a part of the green phenomenon and [to do] our part,” said Russell.

Over the last two years, River House has taken steps to optimize the efficiency of the building, including various lighting upgrade projects, including replacing fluorescent lights with energy-efficient LED lights.

Another large energy hog for River House was its 20-horsepower domestic water pump, which was responsible for driving water to the top floor of the building. The inefficient motor was replaced with two fivehorsepower motors with variable speed drives allowing both motors to work together and operate based on the needs of the building.

Through River House’s efforts in 2015, they had a 48,696-kilowatt hour reduction or approximately $6,000 in energy savings at their current electrical rate.

This was in addition to modifying their electrical rate from GP to GPD at the beginning of 2015, which saved them about $18,000.

“I recommend all electrical energy customers to ask their utility to provide them with an ‘Electrical Rate Analysis’ every few years,” Russell said.

This ‘vertical neighborhood’ meets bi-monthly to discuss the general business of the Association, but also has ongoing conversations about energy reduction and sustainability efforts.

River House has registered to compete in the 2016 Battle of the Buildings and is looking at a multi-step modular boiler system. Russell believes that while this would be a large undertaking and the amount of energy savings from such a project would be substantial.

While River House would endeavor to save energy regardless of being a participant in the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, it does not mean that they do not appreciate the recognition for their efforts.

“It’s a point of pride for us,” Russell said.

THROUGH MICHIGAN BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS, WE CAN SHOWCASE OUR CONTINUOUS EFFORTS TO REDUCE OUR ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND COMPARE OUR EFFORTS TO OTHER HOSPITALS WITHIN MICHIGAN. THIS PROGRAM IS A GREAT WAY TO ENCOURAGE ENERGY EFFICIENCY, SHARE PROJECT IDEAS AND IMPROVE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT. - 2015 COMPETITOR, SARAH CHARTIER, SPECTRUM HEALTH

12 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS APRIL 18, 2016

Comerica Incorporated Stadium - Pauline • 1ST PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN OFFICE BLDGS CATEGORY Comerica Incorporated is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Here in Michigan, they more than banking centers, with 476 U.S. banking centers overall.

In their first year of participating in the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, their Stadium-Pauline building took first place in the ‘Office’ category with a total reduction of 21.27 percent.

“To be successful, we recognize that the prosperity and well-being of the people, businesses, and communities we serve depend on sustained access to the natural resources provided by a healthy environment, and the social and human resources provided by healthy communities,” said Scott Beckerman, senior vice president and director of corporate sustainability. “Managing our environmental footprint by reducing energy consumption is

part of a broader approach that uses corporate sustainability as a value creation tool.”

With this idea in mind, Comerica has set goals to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 20 percent, water consumption by 30 percent, and waste sent to landfills by 20 percent, as well as reduce paper consumption by 50 percent by the year 2020.

“Achieving energy savings is always a combination of factors,” Beckerman said when asked how they reduced energy consumption over the 2015 calendar year. “While we made some updates to the interior of the building in the later part of 2015, our biggest savings resulted from the installation and use of a building management system to better control our heating and cooling needs.”

Beckerman also added that Comerica provides “routine updates and suggestions”

Fifth Third Bank

to their colleagues “on simple ways to help reduce energy consumption.”

But, according to Beckerman, sustainability performance at Comerica is a team effort.

“We wouldn’t have been so successful without the entire Comerica team working together; from our colleagues in the Stadium-Pauline building to our corporate real estate group and partners at CBRE to our toplevel executives,” he said.

Beckerman added that when it comes to sustainability performance, their work is never done.

“We’ve already expanded our entries for the 2016 Battle and are looking forward to the competition,” he said. “As we work to reduce our energy consumption and our impacts on the environment, everyone ends up a winner.”

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As a large operator of facilities, with 235 financial centers across Michigan, Fifth Third Bank continues the work to become more energy efficient and reduce their carbon footprint.

The 200 Monroe location in downtown Grand Rapids has placed second in the ‘Office’ building category of the 2015 Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, having reduced their energy use by 15.27 percent for the 112,716-square-foot office building.

In 2015, the facility engaged in energy audits, re-commissioning, and the installation of digital controls, lighting sensors, and new HVAC equipment to improve its energy efficiency.

Fifth Third also conducted due diligence on upgrading interior

lighting and implemented targeted HVAC controls in their banking centers.

These efforts have led to reductions in energy use and have built a foundation for further reductions. In 2015, electricity consumption at facilities where Fifth Third receives an energy bill was 61 million kilowatt-hours (26.4 percent) lower than their baseline year of 2007.

These facilities also reduced natural gas consumption by 252,000 million British thermal units (52.3 percent), relative to 2007.

Based on average emissions factors for electric power and natural gas in the United States, these energy savings correspond to a reduction in 2015 carbon dioxide-equivalent

emissions of 61,600 metric tons (38.0 percent), relative to 2007.

“Each year, for Earth Day and during Energy Awareness Month in October, we publish a feature story on our employee Intranet homepage about our efforts to become more energy efficient and we ask our employees to help do the same at home and work,” said John Zimmerman, senior vice president of marketing for Fifth Third’s West Michigan region.

“We also share our progress annually with our employees, customers, and stakeholders through Fifth Third Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility Report (www.53.com/csrreport), which includes a section on our efforts to become more environmentally sustainable.”

Fifth Third continues to build its new ground-up banking centers to independent green building standards.

Last year, four new Fifth Third financial centers earned the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental (LEED) recognition, including two that earned LEED Silver making a total of 27 LEED certified banking nation-wide.

“We are proud of our commitment to conserving energy, lowering our carbon footprint, and operating energy-efficient facilities,” Zimmerman said. “It takes the commitment from the entire team of management and facilities to make such progress.”

Zimmerman added that Fifth Third has already entered all of their financial centers across Michigan in the 2016 Michigan Battle of the Building program.

APRIL 18, 2016 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS 13

Radisson Plaza Hotel • 1ST PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN OTHER CATEGORY When driving through downtown Kalamazoo, it’s hard to miss the towering glass and concrete façade of the Radisson Plaza Hotel, a 340-room, ninestory building hotel.

The property was built in 1975 and includes four restaurants, one large banquet kitchen, and five retail outlets. The facility also has 44,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space, bringing the total building square footage to roughly 471,000 square feet.

This is the first year that the Radisson Plaza Hotel has participated in the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program and did so to help track their progress on energy saving efforts.

It looks like that paid off with a first place victory in the competition’s ‘Other’ building category and a 16.8 percent reduction in energy use during 2015.

“Our entire leadership team and staff are committed to helping our community in every way possible, as well as minimizing our footprint both locally and globally,” said Sean Gillette, director of engineering. “Both

our owner and upper management support our passion and make every effort possible to ensure we meet or surpass our goals.”

As the director of engineering for the property and chairperson for the organization’s “Green Team,” Gillette ensures that all equipment purchased for the hotel is ENERGY STAR® rated and as efficient as possible.

Some of the capital projects that the Radisson Plaza Hotel completed in 2015 included remodeling their second largest suite to incorporate LED lighting as well as low-flow plumbing fixtures, installing new higher efficiency “house” water pumps to keep water pressure levels up to their highest guest floors, and installing programmable/ digital thermostats in all 340 guest rooms. The organization also installed new motion sensing doors at their primary entry with air curtains to keep the outside air from migrating into the building, thereby reducing heating & cooling costs.

According to Gillette, in

2015, their energy conservation efforts saved the Radisson Plaza Hotel almost $142,000 over 2014, all while their hotel occupancy was 4 percent higher.

With a successful first year under their belts, the Radisson Plaza Hotel is looking forward to competing again in 2016.

A few projects slated for 2016 include remodeling the boardroom bathrooms to include LED lighting and low-flow plumbing fixtures, converting their backof-house T-12 lighting to LED fixtures, installing new highefficiency pumps for their pool and hot tub, replacing their BMS (Building Management System) to a new system with sensors for better control and monitoring of the equipment, and rebalancing their intake air and exhaust systems to help ensure proper building pressure.

“I look forward to another great year of energy savings and emissions reduction in 2016 and the years to come with this organization,” Gillette said. “[I’m] excited to see what we [can] accomplish this year!”

Nichols Corporate Headquarters 2ND PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN OTHER CATEGORY Nichols is a distributor of cleaning, packaging, and other related products for the healthcare, education, municipal, lodging, retail, and industrial market segments. They are headquartered in Norton Shores and have a 112,000-square-foot distribution and office facility, along with six other locations in Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

This is Nichols second year competing in the Michigan Battle of the Buildings program and was a first place winner in 2014 in the ‘Other’ building type category.

Norton Shores is Nichols largest facility pursuing and achieving LEED for Existing Buildings Operation and Maintenance (EBOM) Gold certification in 2010. This built a framework for energy efficiency. Since then, Nichols recertified the building as LEED EBOM under the newest version (Version 4.0) achieving Gold in October 2015.

Nichols began with a pretty energy efficient building in 2007 when the purchased the Norton Shores facility starting with a baseline EnergyStar® score of 74. The first major project was a lighting change in the warehouse, which resulted in an immediate 34 percent reduction in electric usage.

Since then, it has been much smaller changes that have contributed to another 20 percent reduction over the past two years; 10.84 percent qualified them to take second place in the “Other” building category for this year’s Battle of the Buildings program. Their current EnergyStar® score is 92.

“We entered the 2015 Battle

of the Buildings competition without a goal in mind,” said Renae Hesselink, vice president of sustainability at Nichols. “We felt we had achieved about all we could and surprised ourselves with another 10.84 percent reduction in 2015.”

According to Jim Rees, director of distribution, two main things contributed to the reduction.

“We removed two of six lamps in each of the light fixtures (217 fixtures) in our warehouse area in 2014, so we may still be catching some of those savings,” Rees said. “We [also] automated the fresh air intake system in the warehouse, which may have contributed more than we originally thought.”

That project was completed in December of 2014 and an incentive was received from DTE for that upgrade. A Level

II Energy Audit was also conducted in 2014 and a plan of future upgrades was identified.

Nichols has joined Michigan Battle of the Buildings again for 2016 and will focus on an office lighting upgrade, which will likely be to LED fixtures and lamps, and also retrofitting smaller areas like restrooms and conference rooms to LED. “We look forward to competing again in 2016 and have some more building enhancements to look forward to. We’re hoping that it will make us a strong competitor again this year,” Hesselink said. “Our estimated annual savings (or cost avoidance) from the reduction in energy usage over the past several years is about $30,000. Now compound that over a number of years and it is well worth the effort.”

14 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS APRIL 18, 2016

Muskegon County Louis A. McMurray Conference & Transportation Center • 1ST PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN PUBLIC BLDGS CATEGORY For the second year in a row, the Louis A. McMurray Conference and Transportation Center in Muskegon County will be taking home recognition for energy reduction. They placed first in the ‘Public Buildings’ category for the 2015 Michigan Battle of the Buildings program, and took the same title in the same category in 2014.

The Louis A. McMurray Conference and Transportation Center was built in 2000 and was considered, at the time, to be very energy efficient. It is approximately 30,500 square feet, one-third being office and conference space and twothirds a garage area.

When asked how they continue to reduce energy consumption, Sara Damm, sustainability coordinator for Muskegon County, said “by simply tracking energy usage for our buildings in EnergyStar® Portfolio Manager forces us to pay attention and have it top of mind.”

Muskegon County began using the EnergyStar® plat-

form in 2014 after attending the Michigan Battle of the Buildings Portfolio Manager training session to meet the requirements of the competition.

“The old adage that you can’t manage what you don’t measure still holds true today,” she added.

There is a strong interest internally, including County commissioners, to not only reduce energy usage but also add in the use of renewables.

A committee is being formed to put a future energy plan in place, which will set specific goals, Damm said According to Jim Koens, transit systems manager for the Muskegon Area Transit System (MATS) of Muskegon County, much of their savings in 2015 were contributed to lighting changes.

“There are many options to change out lighting today without changing the fixtures,” Koens said.

In May of 2015, the facility started making the transi-

tion from fluorescent lamps to LED inside the building, as well as the outside parking lot fixtures. They were comfortable replacing fluorescent lamps; however, they wanted to test the exterior metal halide parking lot lamps and the high bay metal halides in the garage area before converting all fixtures.

By November, they were convinced they should finish the transition.

“Our primary goal is to reduce operating costs wherever we can to be able to increase service out to the public,” Koens said.

In 2015, they reduced their energy usage by 10.40 percent, which equates to approximately a $3,200 annual savings.

When you add that to last year’s reduction of nine percent and then compound it for years to come, it all adds up.

Both Damm and Koens are confident they still have more to do and a team approach will contribute to a solid plan with goals attached.

City of Grand Rapids Water Resource Facility • 2ND PLACE BIGGEST LOSER IN PUBLIC BLDGS CATEGORY The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan has become a nationally recognized leader in advancing sustainable business practices.

In 2010, Grand Rapids was named the nation’s most sustainable mid-sized city by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Civic Leadership Center and Siemens Corporation. In June 2012, the City of Grand Rapids and Mayor George Heartwell received the 2012 U.S. Mayors’ Climate Protection Award in the “Large City” category.

To date, the City continues to promote energy conservation and environmental protection through its sustainability plan.

The City entered its Water Resource Facility (WRRF) into the 2015 Michigan Battle of the Buildings program to reflect a continued investment in energy reduction.

In 2014, the WRRF placed

second in the competition; this year, the facility will be taking home another second place accolade after seeing a 9.10 percent campus-wide energy reduction.

“While there were a couple [of] small projects to credit for the reductions, the City recently received a Consumers Energy Rebate in the amount of $214,434.16 for the implementation of high-efficiency aeration blowers for their North Aeration Treatment process,” said Michael Lunn, environmental services department manager for the City of Grand Rapids.

According to Lunn, this project complemented the on-going WRRF infrastructure improvements and included the replacement of two existing aeration blowers with newer, more efficient technology to provide lower energy use and better control based on process

demand.

This project was funded through the State of Michigan’s Clean Water Revolving Fund with an expectation of $950,000 in debt forgiveness through the Green Energy Reserve Blocks portion of the loan.

This energy optimization strategy will save approximately $250,000 per year of energy cost with an anticipated payback in less than four years.

Lunn also added that by 2017, the WRRF will have solar power that will provide 15 to 20 percent of the energy needed to meet the facility’s needs.

“We believe it is a great competition and has great outcomes,” Lunn said. “Being crowned the second place Biggest Loser allows us to demonstrate the energy reductions that occur at the WRRF. [We’re] looking forward to the challenge again in 2016.”

THE BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS COMPETITION HAS BEEN GREAT FOR OUR COMPANY. IT’S A GREAT HUB FOR DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES TO WORK TOGETHER ON CREATING SUSTAINABLE AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT COMPANIES. - 2015 COMPETITOR, BROOKS TWIST, BREWERY VIVANT

“ HOW CAN BEING MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT HELP MY BUSINESS?” Warmer weather may make it hard for businesses to save money on their gas and electric bills while still keeping employees and customers cool. That’s why DTE Energy wants you to know what you can do to accomplish both goals.

Programming thermostats to automatically adjust the temperature during unoccupied periods and installing motion sensor lights in less used areas are easy ways to save without sacrificing comfort. Replacing water heaters with ENERGY STAR® certified ones will result in even more energy savings.

Together, we can reduce energy waste and help your business thrive.

For more tips and ways to save, visit dteenergy.com/savenow.

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16 BATTLE OF THE BUILDINGS APRIL 18, 2016

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BETTER COMMUNITIES. It’s not what we do. It’s why. Our passion for your health includes creating a healthier environment for you and your family. From being one of the top 25 most sustainable hospitals in the nation, to being the only hospital in Michigan recognized as a Clean Corporate Citizen, we’re proud to be a leader in sustainability.