Ecosystem - Company of the Year - Energy

Company: Ecosystem
Company Description: We are specialists in complex interconnected energy systems. We challenge the status-quo to design, implement and guarantee solutions that increase efficiencies and drive out waste.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Company of the Year - Energy - Medium-size

Nomination Title: Ecosystem

ABOUT ECOSYSTEM ENERGY SERVICES

Ecosystem Energy Services is an award-winning firm focused on the design and delivery of high-performing energy projects. Established in 1993, with offices in New York, Boston, Los Angeles, Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto, Ecosystem has built a business that reconnects engineering design and construction and guarantees project outcomes. Ecosystem collaborates with building and facilities owners to develop creative solutions that improve the bottom line and contribute to an environmentally responsible energy future.

As leaders in the institutional, industrial, and commercial sectors in North America, Ecosystem clients are too often contending with costly, aging, and ineffective energy ecosystems. This is where Ecosystem comes in. They specialize in the transformation and modernization of energy ecosystems, unlocking hidden value and delivering real results.

Whether clients are looking to increase productivity, meet sustainability targets by emitting fewer greenhouse gases, increase savings and avoid costs, or improve building safety and comfort, Ecosystem prioritizes the outcomes that are important for their clients.

Ecosystem energy system specialists combine engineering expertise with a deep understanding of practical application in the toughest operating environments. Every choice Ecosystem makes contributes to better client outcomes – and we guarantee the results.

At the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) facility, Ecosystem’s holistic approach uncovered possibilities beyond the initial request. Instead of a gas line requested in the RFP, we installed an air-source heat pump to use the building’s internal heat load. This measure avoids the cost of bringing natural gas to the bunker and removes oil for heating. Combined with energy savings from other measures, a solar canopy reduces emissions to the extent that the facility is carbon neutral.

At the Barry Callebaut chocolate factory, a custom-built biomass boiler was installed to burn cocoa husks to produce steam, powering the chocolate production process without additional natural gas. This biomass boiler reduces emissions and disposal costs, consistent with strategic objectives.

At the Centre for Sustainable Development, a LEED Platinum certified building, addressing interactions HVAC systems resolved operating issues that allowed for significant improvements at minimal cost. Even in an efficient building, the team was able to lower electrical demand by a third.

Brown University had invested in updating its hot water piping network only a decade before our project. Reengineering this asset enabled a drastic temperature reduction across the entire network, removing the biggest hurdle to help the campus achieve its carbon reduction strategy.

At both Vassar College and Tufts University, Ecosystem acted as a technical energy advisor to identify the best path toward net-zero. Following these studies, both universities partnered with Ecosystem to implement construction.

Ecosystem uses an outcome-based approach to uncover hidden value in our clients’ energy infrastructures. We collaborate with our clients to identify the results they want and need, such as resiliency, savings, sustainability, and comfort – and we guarantee them contractually.

This is only possible with integrated engineering and construction–one accountable firm for the entire project timeline, from concept to commissioning. This approach favors creative and innovative solutions, advancing the energy transition while delivering targeted results. These projects cut energy consumption by 25% to 50% and emissions by 30% to 80%.

AtMEMA, rather than simply performing the work requested in the RFP, Ecosystem sought new possibilities that were both more cost effective and green.

TheBarry Callebautproject shows that optimizing existing equipment can bring significant productivity gains with a smaller investment and less waste. Optimization was carried out alongside the installation of the new biomass boiler, ensuring the highest levels of performance.

At theCentre for Sustainable Development, assessing interactions between each HVAC system was key to leveraging existing assets and delivering the most efficient solutions.

Reusing and repurposing the piping atBrown Universitywent beyond sustainability: It resulted in a shorter implementation timeline, lower costs, and reduced campus disruptions. 

AtVassarandTufts, Ecosystem’s reimagining of the master plan process demonstrates a unique approach to district energy projects. We start a project with the end in mind, ensuring that the final goals are clear and achievable, all stakeholders involved – and that progress can begin immediately.

Our homepage is www.ecosystem-energy.com

Attachments: Case studies for MEMA, Brown University, Vassar College, Centre for Sustainable Development, Barry Callebaut
-Brown University’s Thermal Efficiency Project – District Energy Magazine https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kzNFGE-vDKBArOdMfCpnM7xYGVVJ1Nd_/view?usp=sharing
-Awards - Have received 11 awards since 2019 https://ecosystem-energy.com/about/awards/
-Campus Decarbonization and P3s on page 40 – Higher Education Private Public Partnerships Report 2021 https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&;edid=643887be-20a9-4671-b406-4bf0d73e0b0a
-About Ecosystem flyer (attached)
-Governor Baker Signs Executive Order to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions at State Facilities – acknowledges our project at the MEMA bunker https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-baker-signs-executive-order-to-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions-at-state-facilities
-Outcome-Based Master Planning for universities (attached)
-BronxCare project during the height of the COVID crisis https://ecosystem-energy.com/news/bronxcare-chiller/