34 | Business World Magazine |
July 2013
didn’t just want to be seen as a good partner
in this process, but as a good leader.”
This meant the city would have to look
within its own operations to determine
how it could best lead by example. Early on,
Dayton determined to measure its carbon
footprint and devise solutions that would
not only help reduce energy consumption,
but pose benefits for the environment too.
With funds secured from a Federal Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant,
Dayton contracted with Fairborn-based,
Honeywell Building Services to conduct an
energy-usage study and greenhouse gas emis-
sion analysis involving more than 700 util-
ity accounts maintained by the city. Honey-
well measured data that dated back to 2006
to determine operations which didn’t reach
federal benchmarks of efficiency complicit
with standards affiliated with EnergyStar.
The results of the energy audit helped the
city identify a number of opportunities for
improvement, and in the time since, Dayton
has not only conserved energy, but signifi-
cantly reduced utility costs. Those changes
have included retrofits to lighting fixtures,
installation of a vegetated roof on top of
City Hall (which not only reduces heating
