EBI partnered with a major national home improvement retailer to support energy compliance, sustainability initiatives, and operational efficiency improvements across a large retail portfolio.
With more than 1,850 stores nationwide, the retailer needed a scalable strategy for energy benchmarking, retro-commissioning, building tune-up compliance, carbon emissions analysis, and building performance standards planning.
The client required a partner capable of delivering consistent retail energy compliance and optimization services across multiple jurisdictions while minimizing disruption to daily store operations.
Outcomes
183+ retail locations serviced
13% average energy savings achieved through Retro-Cx
23.8% average project ROI
$120K annual savings achieved in Seattle locations
Challenge
Managing energy performance across a large retail portfolio created several operational, regulatory, and financial challenges.
The retailer needed to:
- Meet local energy benchmarking and building performance requirements
- Reduce energy waste across HVAC, lighting, and building systems
- Avoid compliance penalties and regulatory risk
- Coordinate energy audits, retro-commissioning, and tune-up work across multiple markets
- Minimize disruption to store operations
- Support long-term sustainability and decarbonization goals
- Create a repeatable process for multi-site retail energy management
For national retailers, compliance requirements often vary by city, state, building size, utility data availability, and local reporting rules. The client needed a program that could support both portfolio-level planning and site-level energy savings.
Solution
EBI developed a scalable energy compliance and retail energy optimization program tailored to the client’s multi-site portfolio.
The program combined technical building analysis, energy benchmarking compliance, retro-commissioning, building tune-up measures, carbon emissions analysis, and building performance standards planning. This helped the retailer manage local compliance requirements while identifying practical opportunities to reduce energy waste and operating costs.
Services included:
- Energy and Water Benchmarking Compliance
- Energy Audits
- Decarbonization Audits
- Retro-Commissioning, also known as Retro-Cx
- Building Performance Standards Compliance
- Carbon Emissions Analysis
- Building Tune-Up Compliance
- Energy Conservation Measure Identification
- Portfolio-Level Energy Compliance Support
Why Retail Energy Compliance Requires a Portfolio Strategy
Retail energy compliance is no longer just a one-time reporting task. National retailers must manage energy benchmarking, utility data collection, building tune-up requirements, energy audits, emissions tracking, and building performance standards across multiple jurisdictions.
For a large retail portfolio, each location may have different requirements based on city, state, building size, energy use, utility data availability, and local regulations. A store in Seattle may have different compliance requirements than a store in New York City, San Francisco, or Philadelphia.
This creates a portfolio-level challenge. Retailers need to understand which requirements apply to each location, track energy and water performance, identify high-priority buildings, reduce operational energy waste, and support long-term carbon reduction goals.
EBI helped the retailer connect compliance, energy optimization, and operational performance into one scalable program. This gave the client a consistent way to manage requirements across geographically distributed assets while identifying practical opportunities for cost savings.
How EBI Identified Energy Savings Opportunities
EBI evaluated each location through both a portfolio-level lens and a site-level technical review. The objective was to identify energy conservation measures that could reduce costs, improve operations, and support compliance without disrupting daily retail activity.
This approach helped EBI prioritize improvements that supported both regulatory compliance and measurable financial performance.
Across serviced locations, the program helped achieve 13% average energy savings through retro-commissioning, a 23.8% average project ROI, and $120K in annual energy savings across Seattle locations.
Common areas of review included:
- HVAC controls, schedules, and setpoints
- Lighting performance and operating schedules
- Building automation system settings
- Equipment runtime and sequencing
- Utility data and energy benchmarking performance
- Energy and water reporting requirements
- Opportunities for retro-commissioning
- Opportunities for building tune-up compliance
- Carbon emissions and decarbonization planning
- Building Performance Standards readiness
Results
EBI’s work helped the retailer reduce energy costs, improve building performance, and support compliance across a large national retail portfolio.
Regulatory Compliance Achieved
Serviced locations met or exceeded applicable local energy compliance requirements and benchmarking mandates.
Operational Performance Improved
Retro-commissioning and building tune-up measures improved building system performance and reduced operational inefficiencies.
Long-term Sustainability Supported
Energy reduction initiatives supported corporate sustainability and decarbonization goals across multiple markets.
key stats at a glance
183+
Retail Locations Serviced
13%
Average Energy Savings
23.8%
Average Project ROI
NYC • Seattle • San Francisco • Philadelphia
Featured Market Highlights
Retro-Cx • Benchmarking • Energy Audits
Services Delivered
$120K
Seattle Annual Savings
Multi-state
Portfolio Support
The EBI Advantage
EBI helps retail organizations improve building performance, reduce operational costs, and navigate evolving energy compliance requirements across complex property portfolios.
Our scalable approach supports energy benchmarking, retro-commissioning, building tune-up compliance, energy audits, carbon emissions analysis, building performance standards planning, and long-term sustainability strategy.
EBI helps clients assess risk, advise on compliance requirements, improve building performance, and verify results across geographically distributed assets.