From Measurement to Action: Reducing Energy Intensity Across Your Property Portfolio

You can’t manage what you don’t measure

In Why Australian Property Leaders can no longer afford to treat sustainability as a seperate initiative, we explored why sustainability has become a strategic priority for government agencies, universities, healthcare providers and other large property portfolio owners. The next question is a practical one:

How do you actually reduce emissions?

The answer begins with measurement.

Before making major investment decisions or setting emissions reduction targets, organisations need a clear understanding of how their buildings are performing today.

Start with Energy Use Intensity

One of the most useful metrics available to property and facilities managers is Energy Use Intensity (EUI). EUI expresses a building’s energy use as a function of its size. EUI is calculated using the below formula:

EUI = Total Annual Energy Consumption (kWh) / Building Area (sq. m. or sq. ft)

Rather than looking at total energy consumption alone, EUI allows organisations to understand how efficiently a building operates relative to its footprint. To take this analysis further, property and facilities managers can compare their figures to other benchmarked organisations, comparing like for like.

This creates a powerful basis for decision-making.

EUI helps organisations:

• Establish a performance baseline
• Identify high and low performing assets
• Compare similar facilities across a portfolio
• Prioritise improvement opportunities
• Track progress over time
• Most importantly, it replaces assumptions with evidence.

Once organisations understand where energy is being consumed and which buildings are underperforming, they can focus investment where it will deliver the greatest return.

Turning Data into Action

Measurement alone does not reduce emissions. What matters is how organisations respond to the insights.

The most successful emissions reduction programs will use the data to identify where change will have the biggest impact. At Grosvenor, we can support your business at multiple parts of this process, whether it be collecting the data, understanding the data or developing strategies to implement recommendations.

Once you have understood your data, the most effective solutions focus on a combination of strategic, operational and behavioural initiatives, guided by the data. Some of these potential initiatives are summarised below.

1. Optimise Portfolio strategies, Accommodation and Leasing

Sometimes the biggest sustainability gains come from portfolio decisions rather than building upgrades. Once an improvement need has been identified, property managers can consider:

• Relocating into more energy-efficient accommodation
• Incorporating NABERS and Green Star requirements into leasing decisions
• Consolidating office footprints
• Increasing workplace utilisation
• Implementing activity-based working models to reduce space requirements

2. Embed Sustainability strategies into Capital Planning and Asset Replacement

Energy performance should become a core consideration of capital planning and investment case creation. Key initiatives include embedding emissions reductions measures into:

• Asset Management plans
• Capital prioritisation frameworks
• Lifecycle planning
• Business case requirements
• Sustainable design standards
• Carbon informed replacement planning

Rather than assessing replacement decisions purely on age or condition, leading organisations increasingly consider energy performance and emissions impacts as part of lifecycle planning.

3. Building Upgrades and Retrofit

For organisations with long-term ownership interests, retrofitting existing assets can be a highly effective pathway to reducing energy intensity.

The recommendations which may come out of sustainable capital planning practices include:

• Building envelope improvements
• HVAC replacement and optimisation
• Water efficiency upgrades
• Building electrification
• High-efficiency lighting systems
• Smart building and building management systems
• Solar PV installations
• BESS installations
• Metering and sub-metering enhancements

Even modest improvements across a large portfolio can produce significant aggregate reductions.

4. Energy Procurement and Supply

Reducing consumption is important, but so is reducing the carbon intensity of the energy being consumed.

Options include:

• Renewable energy procurement
• Power purchase agreements
• On-site renewable generation
• Battery storage solutions
• Carbon offsets where appropriate

For many organisations, changing their energy provider or investing in small scale renewable energy installations can offer a significant step in reducing operational emissions.

5. Improve Facilities Management Practices

Some of the most cost-effective opportunities sit within day-to-day facilities management, using the data collected to target the most impactful areas.

Examples include:

• LED lighting upgrades
• Motion-sensor and timed controls
• HVAC scheduling aligned to occupancy
• Regular maintenance of plant and equipment

These initiatives often require relatively limited capital investment while delivering high-impact results .

6. Workplace Utilisation and User Behaviour

Buildings do not consume energy. People do. Behavioural change programs can support reductions through:

• Improved workplace awareness
• Smarter use of equipment and spaces
• Water and waste management
• Travel to work schemes
• Recycling and reuse programs
• Occupancy-based operating practices

While behavioural initiatives alone will not achieve net zero outcomes, they can amplify the effectiveness of technical improvements.

Make Sustainability a Core Property Function

From Sustainability to Portfolio Performance

Leading organisations are increasingly integrating sustainability into broader property, facilities management and asset management strategies rather than treating it as a standalone environmental program.

Reducing energy intensity is not simply about meeting emissions targets. It is about operating better buildings, making smarter investment decisions and creating more efficient, resilient and cost-effective property portfolios. In turn, the benefits of these can support cheaper operational costs, more thoughtful spaces and reduction in waste.

The organisations making the most progress are not necessarily those with the biggest sustainability teams or budgets. They are the ones that understand their performance, prioritise the right actions and embed sustainability into everyday property decisions.

Because once you can measure performance, you can manage it. And once you manage it, you can improve it.