Motivations, barriers and leverage points: Exploring pathways for energy consumption reduction in Canadian commercial office buildings

Abstract Buildings account for approximately 40% of global energy use and 38% of global GHG emissions, thus there is great potential for emissions reduction from this sector. Research on energy management practices in the commercial context is complicated by the inter-dependencies between key stakeholders that own/manage, operate, and occupy buildings. The authors use a systems lens to reframe energy consumption as a process within commercial buildings, emphasizing system-wide opportunities to achieve greater energy efficiency and GHG emission reduction outcomes. This approach, alongside the unique sample population of owners/managers, operators, and tenants from the same building portfolios (in the private and public sectors), is a novel contribution to the energy management literature. This article contributes to the discourse on motivations and barriers for energy management, drawing attention to the cumulative and amplified consequences of siloed decision-making regarding shared resources and infrastructure. The results of this study suggest that the purpose of a commercial building – profit generation or provision of public service – is of fundamental importance to a system-level understanding of energy management, and directly links to stakeholders’ views on decision-making in the context of their roles and responsibilities. Second, there are five major modes of behaviour that can lead to increased energy management activity: 1) Regulated building improvements; 2) Voluntary building improvements; 3) Voluntary operational/management improvements; 4) Leveraging competitive advantage; and 5) Mainstreaming green. These modes of behaviour can be represented as causal feedback loops. This systems analysis offers insight into potential leverage points that may lead to energy use reductions in commercial buildings.