Client Spotlight: Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT)

By 5 on April 29, 2022

For the second year in a row, 5 is spotlighting one of our most innovative and iconic clients, Empire State Realty Trust. Earlier this month, ESRT announced their groundbreaking Empire Building Playbook: An Owner’s Guide to Low Carbon Retrofits. This publication, co-supported by NYSERDA and the Clinton Global Initiative, will help existing commercial buildings implement step-by-step carbon reduction processes with proven methodologies. 5 is proud to be among the core project team that helped ESRT with this game-changing playbook.

Read More
Topics: Clients Sustainability Education Renewables Resiliency
1 min read

Client Spotlight: MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church

By 5 on March 31, 2022

MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church is a large church community in Irving, Texas with many families throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The church campus consists of two large, interconnected buildings that support worship services and many other activities related to both youth and adult faith formation. Energy expenses are a significant operating expense, given the large campus and the numerous services offered by the church.

Read More
Topics: Clients Procurement Sustainability Renewables
1 min read

Client Spotlight: Black Rifle Coffee Company

By 5 on February 28, 2022

Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC) is a Veteran-owned business that was founded in 2014 by former U.S. Army Green Beret, Evan Hafer. Through the company’s tremendous growth, they have committed to hiring 10,000 Veterans to provide opportunities to the military community to help build and support the brand. Additionally, the company also launched the BRCC Fund to support Veterans, first responders, and their families while helping to conserve the great American outdoors.

When companies experience fast-paced growth, several energy-related issues usually appear. That was certainly the case with BRCC when they first engaged the team at 5 for help. The first issue that needed to be addressed was the high rates that some of the BRCC locations were paying after simply calling a supplier’s 800-number to turn on service using a utility default price. In many cases, the supply rate for off-the-shelf pricing could be anywhere from 30-60% higher than competitive market rates obtained through customized pricing. The procurement team at 5 worked alongside BRCC to secure better rates while also selecting better contract terms and conditions based on the power market conditions. The result was dramatic savings for the client over an extended contract term.

In addition to obtaining better rates, BRCC also turned to 5’s Construction Services Team to handle new meter installations, temporary power, and permanent power cut-overs for each new store opening. The team at 5 delivered with accuracy and consistency as BRCC locations are no longer experiencing the frustration of delayed openings due to utility hurdles and extended lead times.

5’s Construction Services Team provides construction-related services to both general contractors on design-build construction projects and to clients that are expanding and building new facilities. In both instances, 5 is brought in as a part of the construction management team to provide the necessary planning and to serve as a liaison with the local utility. 5 works directly with architects, engineers, and general contractors to establish utility services that are coordinated with construction project timelines and in compliance with municipal inspection requirements.

Read More
Topics: Clients Case Studies Procurement
1 min read

Client Spotlight: Brightview Senior Living

By 5 on January 27, 2022

Brightview Senior Living was founded in 1999, built on the idea that a great place to work is a great place to live. Today Brightview builds, owns, and operates 45 senior living communities in eight states along the East Coast: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Brightview communities offer residential apartments for active seniors who are independent and those seniors who require varying degrees of assistance due to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

Read More
Topics: Clients Case Studies Procurement Resiliency
2 min read

Client Spotlight: The Highlands School

By 5 on December 21, 2021

The Highlands School, located in Irving, Texas, has been educating and forming future leaders since the school’s humble beginnings in a Dallas family’s home in 1986. Having moved to a more permanent location long ago, the school’s size and reach have both expanded and they now serve over 300 students from prekindergarten through 12th grade. The school’s motto, Semper Altius, is Latin for “Always Higher” and speaks to the school’s steadfast resolve to provide “education to face the world and formation to change it.”

Read More
Topics: Clients Case Studies
1 min read

Client Spotlight - Consumer Power Advocates

By 5 on November 30, 2021

Consumer Power Advocates (CPA) serves as a regulatory advocate for non-profit institutional organizations in New York. Launched at the onset of electricity deregulation by Luthin Associates, a leading energy advisory company acquired by 5 in 2019, CPA continues to advocate for its members and intervene in key energy legislation today.

Read More
Topics: Clients Sustainability Renewables Resiliency
2 min read

Client Spotlight: Liberty Science Center

By 5 on October 28, 2021

Liberty Science Center is a 300,000-square-foot learning center located in Liberty State Park on the Jersey City bank of the Hudson River near the Statue of Liberty. It houses 12 museum exhibition halls, a live animal collection with 110 species, giant aquariums, a 3D theater, live simulcast surgeries, hurricane- and tornado-force wind simulators, and the Western Hemisphere's biggest planetarium—the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium and LSC Giant Dome Theater. More than 750,000 students, teachers, and parents visit Liberty Science Center each year, and tens of thousands more participate in the Center's off-site and online programs.

Proactively controlling energy expenses and consistently reducing energy usage has always been a top priority for Liberty Science Center. The facilities and operations staff have looked to the team at 5 as a trusted partner to advise on best practices for electricity procurement and the implementation of a purchasing strategy that takes their existing solar arrays into account. Through a competitive procurement process, electricity contracts were recently put in place that leveraged 5’s proprietary energy market platform to identify strategic purchasing opportunities. Liberty Science Center has also aggressively participated in Demand Response programs and taken steps to reduce electricity usage to parts of the museum during periods of peak demand, which has provided an additional revenue stream to the museum over the last decade.

Liberty Science Center has also relied on 5 to provide regular updates on regulatory issues that are shaping energy markets in New Jersey. 5’s advisory services have helped Liberty Science Center to take both regulatory and market forces into account as they plan and forecast their energy costs into the future. Paola Amato, Director of Facilities at the Liberty Science Center said, “At a nonprofit like ours, keeping energy use efficient and reducing costs is a big part of the job. 5 has always been a terrific partner in these efforts.” Additionally, Chief Engineer Ronald Taglieri said, “We have faced a lot of unpredictable challenges in the past two years. 5’s partnership as we navigated our institution’s future was invaluable.”

5 is privileged to support and partner with an institution that is committed to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers through the power, promise, and pure fun of science and technology.

Read More
Topics: Clients Procurement Demand Response Sustainability Renewables
1 min read

Client Spotlight: Celestial Beerworks

By 5 on August 31, 2021

The Celestial Beerworks taproom and brewery provides an otherworldly experience for visitors in more ways than one. Since its opening in 2018, the Celestial team has skillfully combined their favorite things: art, science, and delicious, fresh beer…and space. Their inspiration is manifested throughout each aspect of the company, from their wide variety of beers and meticulous obsession with hops to their masterpiece can-art and onsite décor. Bartenders are replaced by Startenders and flights of beers are ordered by their more Celestial name, Missions. Co-owners Molly and Matt Reynolds bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, including Matt’s history as a brewmaster for Malai Kitchen and his time making homebrews for his friends and family.

Read More
Topics: Clients Procurement Demand Response Resiliency
1 min read

Client Spotlight: The Washington Tennis & Education Foundation

By 5 on July 30, 2021

The Washington Tennis and Education Foundation’s (WTEF) mission is to build life champions, giving children and youth a safe environment where they can excel. WTEF empowers them to achieve their highest potential by developing meaningful values and critical skills that lead them to life-long success through a pathway of continual academic, life skills, and tennis instruction during after-school and summer camp hours.

Read More
Topics: Clients Case Studies Procurement Sustainability Renewables Resiliency
2 min read

Client Spotlight: Redeemer Health

By 5 on May 25, 2021

Redeemer Health has a 95-year history of providing compassionate care and healing to the communities it serves in Pennsylvania and New Jersey through the vision of the Sisters of the Redeemer. From its modest beginnings, the Sisters' mission to care, comfort, and heal continues to grow through the many programs, services, and facilities that comprise Redeemer Health. With a long-held commitment to older adults, the Sisters built St. Joseph Manor, a home for older adults, in 1934 on a 45-acre farm in Meadowbrook, PA. In later years, the Sisters established Holy Redeemer Hospital and several retirement and independent living communities. Today, Redeemer Health is a comprehensive health care system comprised of over 40 facilities across the Greater Philadelphia area and Southern New Jersey.

Read More
Topics: Clients Procurement Resiliency