2024 Michigan Energy Summit Recap
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Michigan Battle of the Buildings announced the Biggest Losers of 2023 at the annual Michigan Energy Summit on May 8, 2024. The event also celebrated 10 years of the Michigan Battle of the Buildings competition! The program is recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency ENERGY STAR® as the largest voluntary commercial energy competition in the country. The full day summit was held at the JW Marriott in Grand Rapids, Michigan and included keynote sessions, panel discussions, off-site tours, and exhibitors of industry experts and leading energy professionals.
In the morning we dove deeper into the energy conversation with breakout sessions. The summit offered 90-minute sessions where attendees could choose from four unique tracks, each featuring industry leader panelists. This tailored approach ensured attendees gained insights most relevant to their specific interests, fostering focused discussions and maximizing learning opportunities. The options included:
Grants, Incentives, & Financing - Oh My!
Electrification & Renewable Energy - Geothermal & Solar
Walking Tour of Vicinity Energy Steam Plant
The afternoon included a keynote address by Brenna Walraven, Executive Strategic Advisor at RE Tech Advisors. Brenna Walraven is an internationally recognized leader in the commercial real estate and sustainability industry. As Executive Strategic Advisor for RE Tech, Ms. Walraven provides best practice solutions for organizations by helping them develop and implement business-case-focused environmental, social, governance, and resilience (ESG+R) strategies for commercial real estate operations, asset management, and investor engagement.
Over fifteen hundred buildings representing 272 million square feet of Michigan commercial real estate competed against each other in 2023 in this biggest-loser-styled energy competition. The competitors tracked energy consumption and worked to reduce their energy in various ways; ranging from the education of building occupants to employing high efficient technology. This year we had 11 industry-specific category winners. To learn more about the winners and their projects read their blogs at michiganbattleofthebuildings.org/blog.
The 2023 Michigan Battle of the Buildings competitors saved $7.4 million in energy costs and avoided 47,178 metric tons of CO2e, which is equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 55,514 acres of US forests in one year!
The 2023 Biggest Losers:
Willys Overland Lofts, Detroit, Multifamily Category, 10.90% reduction
Lord of Lords Ministries, Detroit, Place of Worship Category, 39.22% reduction
Imperial Dade, Norton Shores, Warehouse/Distribution/Service Category, 10.17% reduction
Steelcase, Kentwood Plant, Kentwood, Manufacturing/Industrial Category, 6.00% reduction
Independent Bank, Ionia Main, Ionia, Financial Institution Category, 37.82% reduction
City of East Jordan, Lagoon Pump House, East Jordan, Other Category, 5.50% reduction
Detroit Public Schools, Marion Law Academy, Detroit, Education Category, 17.61% reduction
City of Detroit, DPD 9th Precinct, Detroit, Office Category, 27.71% reduction
Corewell Health Care Center, Royal Oak, Health/Hospital Category, 16.76% reduction
University of Michigan, Burton Memorial Tower, Ann Arbor, University Category, 36.94% reduction
Genesis of Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, Water Category, 60.23% reduction
The Michigan Energy Summit also celebrated 10 years of Michigan Battle of the Buildings and energy reduction achievements. The day included a 10-year reflection given by Executive Director, Cheri Holman who discussed all of the growth and accomplishments over the past decade. Over the past 10 years of competition, the Michigan Battle of the Buildings has awarded 75 different organizations representing 264 Michigan cities. These building owners have reduced their energy consumption by an average of 15.5%, avoided 550,000 tons of CO2e, and redirected over $100 Million of utility costs back to their bottom line. The Michigan Battle of the Buildings competition also includes a water category to highlight Michigan businesses for reducing their building water use.
In 2021 the Michigan Battle of the Buildings, in partnership with the Detroit 2030 District and the City of Detroit, launched an extension of the program known as the Detroit Energy Challenge. An annual Awards Breakfast held in Detroit recognizes businesses that have reduced the most energy inside the city limits. This year the breakfast will be held on June 13, 2024, at the Union Carpenters and Millwrights Skilled Training Center.
“When the USGBC-WM created the Michigan Battle of the Buildings competition in 2014 we never imagined it would grow to the size it is today,” said USGBC-WM’s Executive Director Cheri Holman. “Through this one-of-a-kind competition, we are able to show the incredible leadership of Michigan commercial and industrial building owners and provide a place for them to exchange ideas and stay on top of the latest technological advancements across the rapidly changing industry.”
The 2024 Michigan Energy Summit was a great way to celebrate the energy reduction accomplishments over the past decade. Many of our 2023 winners reiterated the importance of community support to accomplish these projects and how many people are often involved in the success. An additional theme of the day was momentum: the push it takes to accomplish these projects, but also the ongoing effort to sustain them and to keep going back to discover what progress can be made and what projects are still left to accomplish.
You can view photos from the Michigan Energy Summit and Awards Ceremony on our website here.