For the second consecutive year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has named Liberty Property Trust a 2013 Energy Star Partner of the Year for strategically managing and improving the energy efficiency of its office and industrial building portfolio.

Since benchmarking its energy use across its portfolio in 2008, the company has saved its tenants more than $5 million in the 130+ buildings in which it controls energy flow.

For more than a decade, Liberty Property Trust has led the commercial real estate industry in the development, management and operations of sustainable buildings. The company has certified more than 100 buildings with Energy Star and developed more than 40 LEED commercial buildings.

It has designed and implemented innovative programs such as Building Wide Access Network, a proprietary real-time energy management system, and “LEEP” – the Liberty Energy Efficiency Partnership program – which creates a “win-win” scenario for energy savings in partnership with tenants.

“Landlords often don’t want to invest in ways by which only tenants receive direct savings, and tenants are often less enthusiastic about investing because they don’t have ownership,” said Marla Thalheimer, Director of Sustainability for Liberty.  “Landlord/tenant partnerships can result in highly successful outcomes. ‘LEEP,’ for example, is designed so that we can work with tenants on benchmarking their own energy usage data and then provide them with ongoing reports and ideas on ways to save energy.  This results in very real energy savings for tenants and more efficient buildings for Liberty.”

According to Bob Perciasepe, Acting Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Liberty was selected as an Energy Star Partner of the Year because, “Superior energy management is our most cost-effective climate strategy and Liberty Property Trust continues to exemplify leadership in this category. The company’s innovative practices provide a model for energy management in the places we work, shop, and play. These strategies help the bottom line and support the well-being of families across America by reducing pollution and protecting the environment.”

Liberty also proactively brings energy saving programs and ideas to tenants and the public through the Liberty Green Guide website. The site is a source of information and case studies highlighting energy saving ideas and initiatives that are useful to both tenants and others in the wider community.

3/18/2013