Every business has a carbon footprint that contributes to climate change. The first step to taking action is understanding what it is, where it comes from, and how reducing it can help your bottom line.

Why is it important for businesses and organizations to understand their carbon footprint?

Climate action for small business

Climate primer for corporate leaders

Climate risks & opportunities

Basic business carbon calculator

• If you have utility bills, gather at least one year of info and track usage/cost over time.

• When is usage highest for each utility? When is it lowest?

• What are the trends over time? Are usage and costs going up? Holding steady? How to they relate to your organization’s growth?

•  If you have multiple meters, how different is the demand among them? There are always lessons to learn by tracking data across facilities or meters, and identifying where your biggest impacts are.

• Use a tool like Energy Star Portfolio Manager (it’s free!) to track data over time, and determine how your facilities compare to each other and to others in your sector.

•  Standardize data by calculating impact per square foot, per employee, per client served, or per unit produced - whatever makes sense for your industry.

•  Consider getting a professional energy assessment.  More info on assessments here.

Some basic guidance on energy sources:

• Natural gas is primarily used for water heating and space heating. It’s generally lower in the summer, and higher in the winter.

• Electricity is usually used for cooling, lighting, and other equipment. If your facility doesn’t have natural gas, electricity can also be used for heating.

• Do you also use fuel, refrigerants, or other materials associated with carbon emissions? If so, quantify these uses as much as possible.

The number one energy waste in most buildings we audit is HVAC systems running 24x7. If your building is empty on nights and weekends and your HVAC doesn’t know it, you’re wasting money.

Programmable thermostats are very likely the easiest, most powerful solution we have to reduce energy costs (by 20% or more!), energy-related pollution, and climate change.

Start with these basics:

• Do you have programmable thermostats controlling your HVAC equipment? (Not sure? See our detailed thermostat guide here.)

• If so, are they programmed?

• If they aren’t programmed, program them with set points that make sense for your operations.

• If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, get one!

• See Dominion Energy’s Building Optimization program for more resources and rebates related to building controls.

More details here.

Basic setpoint guidelines:
Cooling: 76-80F when occupied, 80-82F unoccupied
Heating: 68F occupied, 63-65F unoccupied
For heat pumps, avoid aux/ emergency heat with gradual temp changes (i.e. 2-3F increments)

Additional resources:

For simple buildings: programmable thermostats

Preventive maintenance for commercial HVAC equipment (DOE)

HVAC equipment O&M

Equipment maintenance for restaurants

Energy demand management (RMI)

Major advances in LED lighting technology over the last decade mean that facilities that still use incandescent, fluorescent, or other old fixtures can dramatically reduce costs and energy usage. You can also reduce risk by removing mercury-containing fixtures from the facility. Often, these investments pay for themselves quickly with energy cost savings.

• Sometimes you can determine whether a light is LED by its temperature – if it’s too hot to touch, it’s not LED.

• LED upgrades will pay for themselves within just a few years – or just a few months if you can replace an incandescent bulb with an LED (rather than changing a whole fixture).

• LEDs are available in multiple color temperatures - not just in tones that feel “cold.” Look for bulbs described as “warm”, or as 2700K or lower (the higher the number, the bluer the color).

• LEDs last much (much) longer, and don’t require “reset” time like metal halide lights often do.

• Learn more about lighting and other rebates from Dominion Energy’s prescriptive rebate program.

Along with equipment controls, building envelope improvements (like air sealing and insulation) are the unsung heroes of energy efficiency. They’re often inexpensive, and can have a big impact on comfort, cost, and emissions.

These are the top three energy wasters to look out for: inadequate sealing and insulation in the attic/roof, poor window and door seals, and single pane windows.

Building envelope basics

Building envelope solutions (Building Energy Exchange)

Building envelope assessment guidelines (NREL)

Single Pane Windows? Try Interior Inserts

Whether you’re just getting started, or building on ongoing activities, climate planning can help you move from the basics to a long-term strategy to build resilience and save money.

Business strategies to address climate change

The Net-Zero Playbook

Scope 3 emissions guidance

Sample plans:

Basic

Advanced

From tax credits to grants, from federal to state to local, there are many types of assistance to help your organization reduce its carbon footprint.

Energy Resource Hub

Tax deductions and credits (IRS)

Using tax credits for non-profits

VA DEQ summary of incentives and programs

VA Energy Sense incentive summary

Database of State Renewable & Efficiency Programs (DSIRE)

Dominion Small Business Programs

We’re making progress in many ways! See below for just a few examples.

Green Business Alliance member accomplishments

Climate Tech Innovations in 2024

OK Produce: Renewables & Fleet (RMI)

Faith Communities: Interfaith Power & Light

Healthcare: Practice Greenhealth, Healthcare Without Harm

Beverages: Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable

Hospitality: Virginia Green Travel

Restaurants: Energy efficiency opportunities

Resources for other small businesses, including grocery stores, vehicle dealers, and more

Other ways to learn more:

Attend a “Better Buildings” webinar - see calendar here.

EPA Center for Corporate Climate Leadership

Free resources from ASHRAE

Rented facilities present unique challenges in terms of climate action.

• When you look for a facility to lease, seek information about energy costs, age and type of equipment, insulation, and other factors that will affect costs, comfort, and functionality.

• If you pay the utility bills, see our “Energy 101: Understanding your energy use” section above to get started.

• Explore sharing the costs of improvements with your landlord, or committing to a longer lease in exchange for efficiency investments.

• Explore “green leases” as a tool for moving toward your climate and sustainability goals.

If you don’t pay your utility bills, you can still develop an understanding of your climate footprint.

• Ask your landlord or building manager if you can see the utility bills.

• Determine how utility costs are covered.  Are they split evenly, or proportionally with other tenants? Are they built into the rent? Or some other arrangement? Check your lease or ask for more information.

• If utilities are covered by a flat fee (i.e., no change in cost regardless of season), you might be paying more than your fair share if other building tenants are high energy users (like restaurants).

•  If you’re a high energy user (e.g. the restaurant in a retail strip mall), talk to your landlord about whether they would consider rewarding you for improving efficiency, or consider splitting the cost of improvements with you.

• Determine where your heating, cooling, and hot water come from. If you’re not sure, ask your landlord. How old is the equipment? Most mechanical equipment will need to be replaced after 15-20 years.

• Identify what other equipment or processes use energy.

• Schedule a C3 energy walkthrough (free for most small businesses & non-profits) to identify priorities, and use this info (and C3 support!) to encourage your landlord to make the building more efficient.

If you manage a building with tenants, consider modifying your utility bill structure so that you can both monitor energy use and encourage tenants to conserve. Giving tenants a utility “allowance”, with additional charges only if the allowance is exceeded, allows you to both monitor utility use and incentivize wise usage decisions.