Commercial Buildings

Commercial buildings in real estate markets across the U.S. are an important puzzle piece in establishing high-performance building stock. Below is a collection of IMT resources that highlight energy efficiency opportunities in commercial buildings.

The Latest

Added Value of ENERGY STAR-Labeled Commercial Buildings in the U.S. Market

Download the PDF to view the full sized image of the added value of ENERGY STAR-labeled commercial buildings in the U.S. market. Dozens of statistical studies have proven that commercial tenants, investors, and consumers are willing to pay a premium to lease or buy energy-efficient properties. Even controlling for other factors (like location and size), research … Continued

Energy Service Agreements Primer

Energy Service Agreement An Energy Service Agreement (ESA) is a pay-for-performance, off-balance sheet financing solution that allows customers to implement energy efficiency projects with zero upfront capital expenditure. Through the ESA, the ESA provider pays for all project development and construction costs. Once a project is operational, the customer makes service charge payments for actual … Continued

On-Bill Financing and On-Bill Repayment Primer

On-Bill Financing/Repayment On-bill financing (OBF) and repayment (OBR) are financing options whereby a utility or lender supplies capital to a utility customer to make energy efficiency improvements and is repaid through regular monthly loan payments on an existing utility bill. One of the benefits of these programs is the potential to serve a broad set … Continued

Managed Energy Service Agreements Primer

A Managed Energy Service Agreement (MESA) is a variation of an Energy Service Agreement (ESA). In an ESA, the provider develops, finances, owns, operates, and maintains all energy efficiency measures and equipment installed during the term of the project.

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Primer

Property Assessed Clean Energy Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing is a structure in which building owners take on debt for energy efficiency or renewable energy improvements that is repaid through an assessment on their property tax bill. The stability of the property tax bill allows building owners to make long-term investments in their buildings … Continued

Tax Increment Financing Primer

Tax Increment Financing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a financing option that uses expected future gains in state or municipal property taxes from a development or redevelopment project to finance improvements that will create those gains. It has been used as a community development tool for decades. TIF is offered by jurisdictions to attract private … Continued

Green Bonds Primer

Bonds are the largest source of capital in the global market. Bond labeling has been a popular tool since bonds were created. Labeled bonds have been used to fund the railroad, aircraft, highway, and war industries. Many of the financiers and investors who offer bonds are interested in the environmental impact of the projects they … Continued

Energy Performance Contracts Primer

Energy Performance Contract EPCs are one of the most successful and long-standing financing mechanisms specifically for energy efficiency. Although most EPCs to date have been used to fund government efficiency projects, they have also worked effectively for the private sector. EPCs are typically designed so that the value of energy savings is split between the … Continued

Landlord-Tenant Energy Partnership Launches to Unlock Billions of Dollars in Energy Savings

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Katie Weeks, IMT, 202-525-2883, x306 / katie.weeks@imt.org Caroline Stec, RILA, 703-600-2082 / caroline.stec@rila.org Stephanie Cegielski, ICSC, 646-728-3572 / scegielski@icsc.org Coordinated national effort will empower commercial building landlords and tenants to improve energy efficiency in billions of square feet of leased space and reap up to $5 billion in annual energy savings. … Continued