Major government facility transforms energy reporting with OpenBlue smart automation

The organization was responsible for energy management across nearly 300 buildings, including police stations, prisons, warehouses and offices, many of which lacked modern metering infrastructure. Manual data collection slowed ESG reporting and made it difficult to identify opportunities for energy savings. Additional hurdles included:

• Data sharing restrictions: Security protocols prevented integration with existing IT systems.
• Solar data gap: Limited visibility into renewable energy production hindered carbon reduction tracking.
• Budget constraints: Installing physical meters across all sites was cost-prohibitive.
• Fragmented reporting: Sustainability teams relied on spreadsheets, making audits and compliance time-consuming.

To overcome these challenges, the organization partnered with Johnson Controls to deploy OpenBlue Net Zero, a digital platform designed to automate data collection and streamline reporting. Key capabilities included:

• Automated utility data ingestion: Daily and monthly fetching of utility bills for 296 accounts without installing physical meters.
• Single pane of glass: Energy dashboards aggregated data across all facilities, providing clear insights into emissions, consumption trends, and solar performance.
• On-demand ESG reports: Reports generated in minutes, improving auditability and credibility while reducing manual effort.
• Continuous monitoring: Benchmarking identified high-consumption buildings, enabling targeted interventions.

The department’s digital transformation kicked off a new era for its path to net zero.

• Time efficiency: Automated reporting reduced development time from days to minutes.
• Sustainability progress: Improved visibility into emissions and renewable energy performance supported net-zero goals.
• Operational insights: Always-on monitoring helped prioritize energy optimization across the portfolio.