LABBC CASE STUDY

PROPERTY OWNER
CommonWealth Partners

PROPERTY TYPE
Office

SQUARE FEET
3,607,789

1.6 million kWh

Reduction in 2017

2006,
2008-2017

ENERGY STAR
Certified

2018 Innovation Awards: Energy Efficiency Project Finalist

“CommonWealth strives to play a key role in sustainability through innovation. By incorporating and implementing new ideas throughout the portfolio, we plan to minimize our impact while also inspiring others to follow.”

TRAVIS ADDISON, Principal, CommonWealth Partners

PROPERTY
DESCRIPTION

City National Plaza, situated in LA’s Financial District, consists of two granite 52-story office towers, one four-story granite building, and four subterranean levels of retail and on- site parking. City National Plaza is LEED Gold certified and has received the EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification for the last 11 years. In 2016, City National Plaza also was a First Place Sustainability Award from LA Department of Water & Power for overall energy savings of over 5.3 million kWh by replacing and retrofitting air conditioning chiller units.

SUSTAINABILITY GOALS

CWP’s mission is to create and maintain environments that are safe, healthy, and efficient while securing the financial health of our investors and tenants. In 2014, CWP put this mission into practice by establishing an Energy Policy that outlines portfolio-wide energy, emission, and water use reduction goals of 20 percent by 2020.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

In 2017, City National Plaza completed an installation of high performance 3M Night Square Feet: 3,607,789 Vision 25 on the SW & SE Facing windows of both towers (over 225,000 sq. ft. of CommonWealth-Partners.com glass was filmed) and the project has already saved 1.6 million kWh.

2017 PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

• 29 floors were converted to DDC controls in 2017, totaling 48 to date.

• Installed high-efficiency motors on all four chill water pumps (0.39-year payback).

• Installed two chill water pump VFDs (estimated $170,000/year savings with a one-year payback).

• Installed solar reflective window film on the Southern and Eastern exposures (estimated $289,000//year savings with a one-year payback).

• Implemented an off-site garage lighting retrofit (estimated $136,000/year savings on a one-year payback).

• Fully automated central plant for optimal efficiencies.

• Started implementation of Encelium lighting controls on a floor-by-floor basis.

PROJECTS COMPLETED
BEFORE 2017

• From 2003 to 2013, implemented retrofits that resulted in $4.3 million in annual savings

• In 2016, implemented retrofits that resulted in an additional savings of $1.1 million with a 3.86-year payback.

• Installed a small pony chiller for low load conditions.

PRO TIPS

“We evaluate each project carefully to determine the best return on the efforts and upgrades needed. We see emerging energy efficiency solutions on the market every year, but we invest in the technologies that make the most sense for our buildings.”

MICHAEL BROOKS
Operations Manager, CommonWealth Partners

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

CommonWealth Partners conducts an annual ESG materiality assessment to continuously improve understanding of the operational and environmental issues that affect investors, tenants, partners, and communities. For the City National Plaza projects, CWP also worked with external stakeholders, like the LA Better Buildings Challenge and local utilities, to better understand potential options and identify available rebates.

INNOVATION

By analyzing the practicality of each project, City National Plaza was able to reduce overall costs and only focus on the specific areas with the greatest results. For example, the window film project was only applied to windows on the south and east exposures since the sun doesn’t shine very long on the north and east sides.