A Roadmap to the Next Level of Performance Phase One Report Next Generation Energy Management

The report identifies nine key drivers—including energy cost savings, stakeholder demand, and smart building technology—that enable corporations to move beyond incremental sustainability gains toward higher energy performance and net-zero buildings.

• While energy cost savings remain a primary driver for sustainable real estate, with over 90 percent of corporate leaders citing it as important between 2009 and 2012, some evidence suggests it may be losing ground to other motivations such as reliability, profitability, and sufficiency.
• There has been a significant increase in stakeholder demand for sustainability since 2007. A 2012 Nielsen survey of over 28,000 respondents across 56 countries indicated that 66 percent of consumers prefer companies with programs that give back to society, and 46 percent are willing to pay more for their products.
• New financial mechanisms are increasing the availability of low-cost capital for energy transformation. This includes property assessed clean energy (PACE) financing, which is legal in 37 states, as well as green bonds, energy performance contracts (EPCs), and power purchase agreements (PPAs).
• Occupant health and wellbeing have become drivers for building sustainability investment comparable to energy cost savings. 83 percent of building owners identified indoor environment and air quality as the most important factors motivating performance investments, while lower operating costs ranked third at 77 percent.
• Technological advancements in sensors, big data, and machine-to-machine communications are facilitating better energy management. In 2012, 93 percent of corporate leaders used technological tools to measure energy consumption.
• The evolution of the electricity grid and a 75 percent drop in solar PV costs over six years have increased global investment in on-site generation. This enables the creation of microgrids that can provide increased reliability and peak load shaving.
• Workplace transformations, including open office layouts and flexible work hours, are creating opportunities to reduce the physical space required per employee by 10 percent to 30 percent or more, thereby reducing energy use.

APA

Muldavin, S., Bendewald, M., Miller, D., Hutchinson, R., & Van Pelt, C. (n.d.). A Roadmap to the Next Level of Performance Phase One Report Next Generation Energy Management. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI-CNGNext-GenEnergyMgmt-Performance-PhaseOn_2014-07.pdf

Chicago

Muldavin, Scott, Michael Bendewald, Douglas Miller, Robert Hutchinson, and Craig Van Pelt. A Roadmap to the Next Level of Performance Phase One Report Next Generation Energy Management. RMI, n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI-CNGNext-GenEnergyMgmt-Performance-PhaseOn_2014-07.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Muldavin |first1=Scott |last2=Bendewald |first2=Michael |last3=Miller |first3=Douglas |last4=Hutchinson |first4=Robert |last5=Van Pelt |first5=Craig |title=A Roadmap to the Next Level of Performance Phase One Report Next Generation Energy Management |publisher=RMI |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI-CNGNext-GenEnergyMgmt-Performance-PhaseOn_2014-07.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{muldavinndroadmap, author = {Muldavin, Scott and Bendewald, Michael and Miller, Douglas and Hutchinson, Robert and Van Pelt, Craig}, title = {{A Roadmap to the Next Level of Performance Phase One Report Next Generation Energy Management}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_RMI-CNGNext-GenEnergyMgmt-Performance-PhaseOn_2014-07.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }