The City of Palo Alto Launches Commercial Benchmarking Pilot Program with GreenTraks

Marysville, CA, February 10, 2015 (Newswire.com) - GreenTraks is pleased to announce it has signed a multi-year agreement with the City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) to provide energy and sustainability benchmarking services for the City’s commercial utility customers. Under the new “CPAU-GreenTraks Commercial Benchmarking Program,” participating businesses will receive services paid for by the City including:  a one-year subscription to the GreenTraks Energy Manager™, an industry-leading cloud-based energy management system; services to establish or update an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account, allowing businesses to benchmark building energy use against similar property types nationwide; and if applicable, receive ENERGY STAR ratings. GreenTraks and the City of Palo Alto began work on this pilot initiative under GreenTraks’ Climate Action Partners Program in October 2014.

CPAU ultimately aims to offer this value-added energy management service to all 2,500 commercial utility customers in Palo Alto, so customers can benefit from benchmarking facilities through ENERGY STAR and the GreenTraks Energy Manager™. According to Bruce Lesch, Key Account Representative for CPAU, “The City of Palo Alto runs a variety of commercial energy efficiency programs, and we look forward to working with GreenTraks to offer this new program to our customers. The pilot program consists of serving 22 Palo Alto organizations that will represent a diverse portfolio of buildings for small, medium and large commercial customers.” The initial sample size of organizations will allow CPAU and GreenTraks to gain an understanding of how best to implement a comprehensive program. The City itself benefits by more effectively tracking performance to help meet efficiency and sustainability goals, and gaining insight on energy efficiency best practices among its customers’ building stock.

According to Kevin Cochran, Chief Operating Officer for GreenTraks, “The City had a very specific set of objectives in mind with this program. They are ultimately interested in establishing all commercial businesses within ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager in order to meet compliance with Assembly Bill 1103, which requires businesses under certain conditions to disclose energy use and report greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) associated with building energy consumption. CPAU will use this information to identify and measure the performance of a portfolio of energy efficiency projects within the City. These efforts will better enable the City of Palo Alto to highlight and promote its business and sustainability accomplishments and best practices. GreenTraks is well-positioned to deliver this solution and can leverage its network of industry experts and own unique capabilities to deliver a comprehensive solution.”

In addition to reporting facility energy use and performance, including an energy efficiency project for each organization, the CPAU-GreenTraks pilot program also includes assisting businesses with AB 1103 compliance requirements. Several customers are in the initial stages of benchmarking their buildings through this program, including a number of City facilities and large commercial customers. Concluding the pilot program, CPAU will have a dashboard of participating businesses, including their ENERGY STAR efficiency rating, which the public can view on the City’s website to see how any particular building ranks in terms of energy efficiency.

GreenTraks’ tools help organizations uncover opportunities and eliminate risks by providing the business intelligence required to prioritize project and purchase decisions, and make comparisons and projections on cost-effective and energy-efficient options. The CPAU-GreenTraks pilot program is a unique opportunity for the City of Palo Alto to continue to establish itself as a leader for City-wide energy efficiency.

GreenTraks is recognized nationwide as a value-leader in energy and sustainability management, offering public-private partnerships, educational programs and full-service data management services. GreenTraks solutions enable cities, universities, commercial businesses, and other organizations to identify and implement sustainability initiatives that increase operational efficiency and profitability, maximize brand and shareholder value, as well as mitigate risk. In addition to the City of Palo Alto, other sustainability-conscious cities that are clients of GreenTraks include the cities of Sacramento, Benicia, and Pittsburg.

About GreenTraks, Inc.

Based in California, privately-held GreenTraks emerged from a fuel and petroleum distribution company tracking energy usage of commercial fleets and bulk fuel. GreenTraks cloud-based energy-efficiency management and reporting suite of subscription-based services includes Energy Tracking, Sustainability Marketing and Advanced Reporting which can be used to track any type of energy source including electricity, natural gas, water, waste or other customer specific commodities. Through a trusted network of strategic partners, industry vendors and suppliers, GreenTraks guides organizations toward saving money, and growing their business through positive behavior change, promotion of sustainability accomplishments and a commitment toward environmental stewardship. Visit www.greentraks.com for more information.

About the City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU):  The City of Palo Alto is the only municipality in California operating a full suite of utility services. For more information, visit www.cityofpaloalto.org/utilities