Under the County’s Fresh AIRE program – Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions – Arlington County made a commitment to reduce emissions from its own operations by 10% by 2012.  As a county government, our emissions come from the energy used in our buildings, vehicle fleet, water/sewer operations, and streetlights.  This includes the direct use of fossil fuels, such as natural gas in buildings, and gasoline and diesel used in vehicles, as well as the fossil fuels used to generate electricity at power plants.  Buildings offer substantial opportunities to reduce energy consumption, and therefore emissions, without compromising essential services.  Thanks for continued investments in energy efficiency and employee engagement, through the Fresh AIRE program and Facilities Management, the County has successfully reduced its buildings' carbon footprint.  

• 2009-2010, All Buildings (Old & New)
  Between 2009 and 2010, the County cut total energy use in buildings 3.7%, reducing electricity by nearly 2,000,000 kWh and natural gas by 14,000 therms.  These reductions have saved the County over $175,000 annually in avoided energy costs.
  
  
• 2007-2010, All Buildings (Old & New)
  Since the AIRE program was established in 2007, total energy use in buildings has been cut over 8%, a reduction that is saving the County over $400,000 annually in avoided energy costs.  These energy reductions equate to an emissions reduction of nearly 3,000 metric tons CO₂e.  These reductions are in spite of the fact that we added several new buildings to the inventory, including the new Fire Station 5, the renovated Fairlington Community Center, the Shirlington Library / Signature Theater, and the new Shirlington Bus Station.
  
  
• 2007-2010, Buildings in Continuous Operation            
  Overall, comparing the buildings we had in 2007 to those same buildings in 2010, our efficiency efforts saved over 5,000,000 kWh of electricity and over 47,000  therms of natural gas - even though 2010 included the hottest summer on record in Arlington in over a decade combined with winter months that were colder than those of 2007.  These reductions saved the County over $450,000 annually  in avoided energy costs.  Altogether, the energy intensity of these buildings decreased by nearly 10% between 2007 and 2010. 

                Note: This illustration of emissions does not include reductions from the County's purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs).

The greatest return on investment and energy efficiency will come from improvements we continue to make in our buildings through retrofits, energy performance upgrades and improved operations and maintenance practices.  Arlington’s Building Energy Report Cards web pages provide details on our progress in this area. 

The Arlington County building portfolio includes 68 buildings, most of them owned and operated by the County, but several are leased.  Our inventory totals just over 2 million square feet of floor area.  These buildings have a variety of uses and fall into the following primary space types:

• Community Centers
• Healthcare Facilities
• Libraries
• Offices
• Public Safety Buildings, including the Courts/Police Building, Detention Facility, and our Fire Stations
• Residential Programs & Clinics
• Warehouses & Storage
• Other Specialty Facilities, including Agricultural, Childcare, Education, Entertainment, Mixed Use, and Vehicle Maintenance and Parking Structures.

For each space type group, a bar graph shows the site energy intensity for each building, enabling a comparison of buildings among that type.  In addition to the bar graphs, Energy Snapshots are provided for additional detail on a building by building basis.  These snapshots include:

• Building Address, Use, Current Size, and Year Built/Major Renovation
• Annual Electric and Gas Usage
• Site and Source Energy Intensity
• Carbon Footprint:  Environmental impact of the building’s energy usage, in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent. 
• EPA ENERGY STAR Rating and EPA National Average Comparison:  Benchmarks of energy performance.  Arlington County is an EPA ENERGY STAR partner and we use a program tool called Portfolio Manager to rate the energy performance of our buildings relative to similar buildings nationwide.  For some buildings, the tool can provide us with a 1-100 rating, for others, a simpler national average comparison is provided.          
• Building Energy Notes:  Description of the building’s energy use over time and plans for changes or improvements. 

These building energy report cards offer a snapshot of energy use and associated emissions from County operations.  In the months ahead, we will be adding new data and analyses documenting our progress in reducing energy use across our building stock, as well as challenges we face in this effort.