Decarbonization Planning Guide
Get to Know Your Building
Conduct a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Audit
Success starts with a plan. Plot the best course to meet your emissions reduction goals.
A GHG emissions reduction audit creates an inventory of GHG emissions sources in a building and outlines a concrete plan to reduce emissions through specific upgrades.
A GHG emissions reduction audit is like an energy audit, with a few additional key elements to support decarbonization. The audit will determine achievable levels of emissions reductions at a building through energy efficiency, electrification, refrigerant leakage reduction, and the addition of onsite renewable energy.
The GHG Emissions Reduction Audit webpage offers further resources to help plan and conduct an audit, including a link to an audit checklist with step-by-step information.
While these audits have a goal to reduce overall emissions in the most cost-effective manner, typical financial metrics like simple payback and the types of measures may differ from conventional energy efficiency approaches.
In general, a GHG audit occurs over several months and involves four major tasks:
- Data Collection and Target Setting: The audit team collects emissions data and high-level information about building systems and emissions sources, then uses this information to set emissions reduction goals. Note that energy benchmarking results can be used to help calculate emissions from energy use, and energy benchmarking can be written into the scope of an audit.
- Onsite Inspections: The audit team conducts a site visit to assess the condition of building systems and evaluate the potential for infrastructure upgrades, such as electrical service, EV charging stations, or onsite renewable energy. After the inspection, the auditing contractor completes an initial assessment report which includes a summary of building conditions and GHG benchmarking results and an initial outline for meeting reduction goals, including proposed emissions reduction measures.
- Analysis and Reporting: The audit team performs an engineering and financial analysis of proposed emissions reduction measures (ERMs) and quantifies their emissions reductions, implementation costs, and any impacts on operating costs. The team creates packages of measures which are pathways to achieving emissions reduction goals. This step culminates in an audit report containing the detailed analysis results and proposed ERM packages.
- Selection and Implementation by Owner: The owner evaluates the ERM packages in consultation with the audit contractor and selects a package to implement. Factors such as capital planning cycles, financing, and incentives can come into play in selecting the most appropriate ERM package.
Who could do this work?
A GHG emissions reduction audit involves at minimum three parties: an owner’s representative (such as a property manager), an outside auditing contractor or consultant that provides expert auditing services, and the building engineer or operations manager who coordinates with the contractor to collect needed data and leverage institutional knowledge about the building.
Provide links service provider listing if applicable. Note that benchmarking and BAU establishment could be written into the Emissions Reduction Audit scope of work.
Links to Resources
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol
- ASHRAE 211 Standard for Commercial Building Audits
- ASHRAE Building Decarbonization Retrofits for Commercial and Multifamily Buildings
What should be included in an emissions reduction audit scope?
Some core scope items should be included in any emissions reduction audit. These include (but are not limited to) collecting energy data and building information, collecting refrigerant recharging logs, and assessing the condition of a building’s envelope, HVAC, lighting, and plug loads. To determine what additional scope items to include, if any, building owners should consider their unique needs and goals. For example:
- Does the building have additional combustion end uses such as commercial kitchens or commercial laundry?
- If so, include this equipment in the site assessment scope.
- Is electrifying the building’s heating equipment a goal?
- If so, conduct an electrical load study and document the capacity of both electrical panels and the building’s electrical service.
- Is the building subject to high electrical demand charges or time-of-use rates?
- If so, include a demand response study.
- Is installing onsite renewable energy or energy storage a goal?
- If so, include a roof condition assessment to support rooftop solar.
By carefully considering the entire building’s needs and having a firm understanding of your goals, you can write an appropriate scope to obtain maximum value from the audit.
Though not required, some audits might include additional scope activities which add value to the information gained. These optional activities include:
- Electrical panel load study
- Existing building commissioning or monitoring-based commissioning
- Energy storage assessment
- Demand management and load flexibility assessment
- EV charging assessment
- New considerations and measures which could be taken into account, such as infrastructure needs (i.e. electrical improvements or a deeper envelope) and load reduction strategies
- High-level utility cost considerations such as peak load impacts
- Investigating potential constraints or opportunities including equipment placement or heat recovery
