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In this episode of the Sustainability Skill Set podcast, host Louis DeMaso speaks with Danielle Norwitz, an account executive at Resource Energy, who shares her experience in energy management and data analytics.
She provides a unique perspective on the role of sustainability in the commercial real estate industry, discussing how her team offers services like sustainability benchmarking, ESG reporting, materiality assessments, and metric reporting to cities and states to help clients achieve their sustainability goals and meet regulatory requirements.
Danielle also provides valuable career advice for anyone interested in sustainability, emphasizing the importance of building relationships and finding mentors to succeed in any job. She offers tips on how to make sustainability a more significant part of your current role or shift into a sustainability-focused position.
The conversation also touched on topics such as the importance of collecting and analyzing energy data, the benefits of having a broad range of experiences across different functions within a company, and how sustainability can be applied to almost any industry.
Whether you’re interested in learning about energy management, sustainability services, or career development, this episode is filled with useful insights.
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The following transcript has been edited to make it easier to read.
Introducing Danielle Norwitz: Account Executive at Resource Energy
00:00 Louis DeMaso
Hello and welcome to the Sustainability Skill Set Podcast, a show where we explore careers in sustainability and the skills needed to help you succeed. I’m glad you’re here.
If you’re passionate about sustainability and eager to learn, you’re in the right place.
I’m your host, Louis DeMaso, a sustainability consultant and young sustainability professional learning right along with you.
Today, I’m excited to be speaking with Danielle Norwitz. She is currently an account executive at Resource Energy, where she manages customer relationships and sales for sustainability services while analyzing energy data to meet clients’ energy management needs.
She considers regulatory requirements and market changes as she helps clients with decision-making.
Coming from an energy analyst background, she also has experience with financial modeling for electric, gas, HVAC, solar, and water systems for commercial real estate.
Danielle is particularly interested in how data drives public policy. Throughout her career, she’s learned the importance of using data to substantiate policy recommendations and decisions.
She’s seen sustainability-as-a-service skyrocket in popularity throughout her industry, as she and developers encounter interest in sustainability from all angles, including from investors.
Her team provides services such as sustainability benchmarking, ESG reporting, materiality assessments, and metric reporting to cities and states.
Danielle, thank you so much for joining us today. We are excited to hear more about your work.
Welcome to the show.
01:20 Danielle Norwitz
Thanks for having me. I’m excited to be here.
As a client relationship manager, Danielle engages with clients on sustainability, energy procurement, metering, and tenant utility billing services.
01:18 Louis DeMaso
Could we start by jumping into what you do at work every day?
01:24 Danielle Norwitz
Yeah, sure. As an account executive at Resource Energy, my role is primarily focused on managing client relationships.
We offer four main services: sustainability, energy procurement, metering, and tenant utility billing. In addition to selling and upselling these services, I also work with clients on the operational side of things.
Our sustainability services include ESG reporting, helping clients report to local jurisdictions for benchmarking, and managing data. For example, we help companies collect data for Energy Star.
Our energy services include tenant utility billing, which involves billing back tenants for the services they use (such as water, HVAC, and electric) from the center, and dividing up property bills on behalf of our clients.
We also offer metering services, which stem from our tenant utility billing and allow us to retrofit meters, read meter usage online, and help clients reach their sustainability goals.
Lastly, our energy procurement services are available only in deregulated markets (such as DC up to Maine, with some exceptions like Illinois and Texas). We help clients acquire third-party energy supply, which can be at a lower rate than their local utility. This depends on the client’s budget and risk tolerance.
As a client relationship manager, I work with clients on each of these services daily by selling, upselling, and working with our team operationally.
Danielle helps companies navigate deregulated energy markets and price fluctuations in the global energy supply.
03:39 Louis DeMaso
That’s really interesting. Could you give a description of what a deregulated market is and how it ties into this concept of sustainability and energy markets?
03:46 Danialle Norwitz
In normal, residential markets, local utility companies often handle both electricity supply and distribution for customers.
In a deregulated market, such as Maryland, instead of going to their local utility for their electricity supply, consumers can go to a third party that may offer them a cheaper rate.
Our company primarily works in the commercial space, specifically with tenant billing for large commercial properties like enclosed malls and open-air centers. We assist our clients in purchasing their electricity supply through 12, 24, or 36-month contracts to lock in a rate.
This helps provide budget certainty and stability, especially during times of market volatility. For instance, the ongoing war in Ukraine has led to significant price increases for electricity across the country and overseas.
By comparing local utility rates against supply rates, we can help our clients feel secure in their budgets and avoid sudden changes in pricing.
05:21 Louis DeMaso
It’s interesting how global supply is connected to energy prices. I’m sure you think about this quite often.
05:27 Danielle Norwitz
Yes, I think about that every day. As I mentioned, I’m not just client-facing. I handle a lot of operational work for the company. I work on the back end and strive to understand everything about our services.
For example, in procurement, we monitor the markets every day and update our clients. We can suggest signing a 12-month contract if it makes the most sense, but if pricing is excessively high that day, we would advise against it.
As brokers, we relay market movements to clients, keep up with their contracts, and meet with them quarterly to discuss them.
Her background as an energy analyst helps Danielle understand the services her company offers and support their implementation.
06:13 Louis DeMaso
When you say that you’re involved operationally, could you give us a sense of what that really means in terms of your day-to-day activities?
06:20 Danielle Norwitz
Sure, in my role, I do more than simply meet with clients and provide quarterly reports.
If a client requests a special analysis of their utility rates, I help assign it to an analyst, meet with them to explain how to perform the analysis, and review and approve the work before it is sent out.
My background as an energy analyst in the tenant utility billing department has enabled me to understand and perform each service, which I find enjoyable.
This work breaks up my day, allowing me to spend half my time considering how to approach new clients and which services to recommend, and the other half implementing those services.
It’s important to meet clients where they are in their understanding of sustainability.
07:18 Louis DeMaso
It’s interesting to note that many sustainability professionals benefit from having a broad range of experiences across different functions within a company.
It seems that you’re leveraging this experience as an analyst, being able to comprehend the process of collecting and organizing data, as well as the human and sales aspects.
Could you elaborate a bit more on how these varied experiences and skill sets align with your current role?
07:46 Danielle Norwitz
When it comes to sustainability, it’s all about identifying your client’s needs and determining how to meet them.
Typically, a client will approach us with questions from their investors or lenders regarding sustainability. At that point, sustainability is often just a concept to them.
Through our tenant utility billing procurement and other services, we often already have a lot of the energy data our clients need for building a sustainability program. This allows us to assist clients in achieving their sustainability goals by bundling the data in a useful way.
Sustainability is a broad term, and we tailor our approach to our clients’ level of understanding.
For instance, some clients may be more receptive to the concept of “future-proofing”, which emphasizes the importance of long-term planning for investors and lenders.
We encourage our clients to think about sustainability, even if they aren’t being directly asked about it. By staying ahead of the curve, we can help them with reporting to organizations like GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark) or CDP.
09:17 Louis DeMaso
From a purely business perspective, sustainability can be described as long-term strategy development or future-proofing.
This means ensuring that the business will be around for another hundred years and beyond.
Of course, sustainability also includes the impact on the environment and society, but within a business context, this framing is helpful. I’m sure your clients appreciate it as well.
09:46 Danielle Norwitz
Exactly. Being in sales is about understanding what will truly benefit your client.
It involves having open conversations with them and speaking in terms of commercial real estate to ensure you are both on the same page.
It’s important to frame your approach in a way that resonates with them.
Access to utility bills and energy metering data is crucial for tracking scope three greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
10:02 Louis DeMaso
That’s so important. I also appreciate that, as an energy company, you already have a lot of the needed data. I often have trouble gathering energy-related data from various sources as a consultant.
Collecting energy bills and extracting the necessary information from them can be a daunting task if they can’t be exported or obtained in a usable format. So, having that data is a significant advantage.
Can you explain the information typically needed for the types of sustainability projects you work on?
10:38 Danielle Norwitz
Yeah, that’s it. Access to utility bills and meter data is crucial for tracking scope three emissions. Obtaining tenant data to report scope three emissions can be challenging, especially if tenants are not required to release it.
This can be even more difficult for large centers with 300 tenants. Having access to metered usage, utility bills, and building layout is essential for all our services.
Local jurisdictions are starting to go beyond just collecting data on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
11:17 Louis DeMaso
Earlier, we discussed some of the sustainability services you offer. You mainly work with energy-related departments but you also have sustainability-specific services, like material assessments and reporting.
Can you explain what those services involve and how they fit into the team and company as a whole?
11:41 Danielle Norwitz
Our sustainability services help clients report to GRESB or other globally recognized platforms. We also provide compliance reporting, as more states and cities across the US require buildings to report their data to the local jurisdiction every year.
For example, California has a report due in June called AB 802, which the entire state must submit. It’s interesting because more states and cities are coming online with this requirement every year.
Until recently, it was merely a matter of reporting the usage, but with the new Local Law 97 in place for New York City, buildings over certain square footage are required to lower their GHG emissions. This is the first time a jurisdiction is doing more than just collecting data.
Regarding our other services, we also help clients enter data into Energy Star and help with green power purchasing. When clients have the option to purchase third-party energy supply from specific solar or wind farms in their state or elsewhere, all having different costs, we help them evaluate which green energy purchases will best support their goals.
13:10 Louis DeMaso
Are you able to assist clients in purchasing renewable energy at a lower rate, ultimately saving them money while also reducing carbon emissions?
13:19 Danielle Norwitz
So, yes and no. We help our clients purchase renewable energy credits (RECs) to achieve their goal of becoming carbon neutral or reducing emissions by buying green energy.
Even with the increased energy pricing due to the war in Ukraine, we didn’t see any decrease in REC pricing. It remained steady, which is interesting compared to other markets. Although it’s not cheaper, it’s still at a premium.
The option to purchase RECs is especially helpful for clients in states like New York, where regulatory bodies not only require reporting but also emissions reductions.
Every five years or so, we like to remind our clients that RECs are a resource available to them.
What does Danielle like most about her job?
14:25 Louis DeMaso
It sounds like you guys have a lot to keep up with with all the different changing markets and regulations.
14:31 Danielle Norwitz
We do. Our sustainability and procurement services are always changing, while other services are focused on innovation and improving our clients’ experiences. It can be a lot to keep up with.
14:46 Louis DeMaso
Do you enjoy that part of the work?
14:49 Danielle Norwitz
As an account executive, I enjoy the freedom of choosing how to spend my day. However, I still have to manage emails from clients and work with our team throughout the day.
Despite my focus on science, I also appreciate the art of sales. There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to talking to clients or determining the next steps with them. I have learned that sales is truly an art that requires continuous learning through experience.
You could spend a long time discussing all the services you offer with a client, but they may still ask how it all fits into what they are doing.
Understanding your clients’ needs in the context of commercial real estate is essential. This is the majority of my job, and some people find it easier than others, depending on their background.
Another thing I enjoy about my job is working for a small company of 75 people because it allows for more flexibility and the opportunity for innovation alongside our team.
Our company was founded in 2007 by our current CEO, who worked for a commercial real estate company and noticed a need for energy management in the industry.
We originally started as a solar company, but the recession forced us to pivot to services that would help our clients save money. This led to tenant utility billing services, where we help clients save money by outsourcing that function.
Building relationships is crucial for accelerating your career.
17:04 Louis DeMaso
Your job seems very multifaceted. It must be exciting to always work on different things and focus on various areas.
Does the complexity also create challenges? If so, how do you manage them?
17:19 Danielle Norwitz
I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to work with great mentors at our company, including our CEO and COO, both of whom have decades of experience. As a result, I receive immediate feedback and have learned that framing and client relations are key.
Having such mentors has helped me bring out my best qualities. I would say that finding mentors is crucial for success in any job.
It’s important to remember that communication and technical skills alone aren’t enough – you must also consider the human aspect of how you can leverage your strengths to benefit both yourself and the company.
Two things have helped me in my career. The first is my ability to build relationships.
As an energy analyst, I was initially more focused on Excel and sitting behind a desk. However, our CEO emphasized the importance of being client-facing and building relationships.
I have always been good at keeping up with people and tracking their needs. For example, if a client expresses interest in sustainability work and never brings it up again, I always have it on my list and follow up on it.
The second thing that has helped me is my ability to follow directions. In school, I enjoyed following rubrics and checking off all the boxes of what was required.
This mindset has carried over to my job. I write everything down and pay close attention to what the client is looking for.
When assigning projects to our operations team, I review everything and make sure to include any additional details or formatting requirements that the client wants.
I believe it is crucial to work for a company that values your best traits, whether they are soft skills or data analysis abilities.
19:50 Louis DeMaso
I can see how the skills you just described make managing complexity easier. Building and maintaining relationships with clients helps to propel things forward and start new projects. Mentorships with executives at your company can accelerate your skillset development. That’s really awesome!
Leadership comes with taking accountability.
20:13 Louis DeMaso
What kind of person do you think would be best suited for your job? We’ve just covered some of the traits but are there any other important skills or approaches that come to mind that someone should focus on?
20:25 Danielle Norwitz
Another important skill is leadership, which comes with taking accountability. If I assign a project to someone and they are unsure about the next steps or who to ask, it is important to lead with confidence.
This is something that I have gained through my experience as an account executive, where I worked with managers who had been with the company for years and were above me. I had to figure out how to make my presence known and bring value by being confident in my leadership and decision-making.
Another important aspect of my job is communication, both within the operations team and with clients. I have found it valuable to figure out the best way to communicate with my colleagues, whether it be through calling them, setting up a meeting, or chatting with them on Microsoft Teams.
Similarly, I might text a client if I need them to sign a contract urgently. It is important to understand and use your colleagues’ and clients’ preferred methods of communication.
Overall, proper communication and leadership skills are essential in any job and can be developed through experience and practice.
Danielle’s path to a sustainability role.
22:05 Louis DeMaso
It’s interesting that you rely heavily on interpersonal and sales skills, considering your background in environmental science and sustainability.
22:15 Danielle Norwitz
Yeah, it is interesting to consider how I got to my current role since I started out as a data analyst in the field of environmental science.
My first internship was in DC, where I was mainly doing data entry. During college, I changed my major from biology to environmental science and policy, as I enjoyed learning about environmental science but was unsure of my career path.
I tried out different internships, including my first one in data entry, which I didn’t enjoy at the time but now value more. I then had an HVAC internship, where I looked at HVAC system models and found it more enjoyable.
At that time, I didn’t realize that energy could be related to my major or that I could transition to a different industry with my background. This led me to apply to my current company, where I saw that I would be doing HVAC calculations for tenants.
One thing led to another, and I ended up on the sales team due to my interest in talking to people and my dad’s advice to pursue sales.
I believe that you can find what you want to do, even if it’s not directly related to your major. You can use your experience to be in consulting or something else that’s valuable.
I’m happy to have made a hybrid career out of environmental science and sales, as I enjoy both. My advice to those unsure of their career path is to try out different things and see what interests you.
24:44 Louis DeMaso
It’s great that you have found a career path in the energy industry. Sustainability is a broad field, so it’s essential to narrow down your focus.
Many people study environmental science to pursue a career in sustainability, including myself. However, I wasn’t sure what to do with my environmental science degree at first.
Initially, I was interested in working on renewable energy. But through my school’s agricultural department, I became more familiar with agriculture and increasingly fascinated by it.
It wasn’t until I graduated and landed an internship in the agriculture industry that I was able to develop subject matter expertise. Learning more about agriculture paved the way for me to focus on sustainability more concretely.
I appreciate your advice and would recommend it to anyone passionate about sustainability but unsure where to start. Developing expertise in any industry that interests you is an excellent starting point because sustainability can be applied to almost any position or industry.
26:00 Danielle Norwitz
Absolutely. It is interesting that in commercial real estate, many clients hire an entire sustainability team, yet they still rely on us to do their reporting.
Sustainability is not their number one focus; their main focus is their company and what they are trying to achieve through commercial real estate.
Our work with our clients’ sustainability teams demonstrates that, in any industry, there is room for sustainability teams to work towards the same goal.
The ability to sell ideas is crucial, especially in sustainability.
26:33 Louis DeMaso
When you were considering a career in sales, was it just your dad’s influence, or did you also feel pressure from the business world and recognize the usefulness of sales skills in your work?
26:50 Danielle Norwitz
In college, I became interested in sales and considered double majoring or changing my major to business to learn more. Even after college, I briefly considered getting an MBA, but I put that on hold for now.
I value the skills that sales teaches, such as leadership and communication, and I wanted to improve in those areas.
I have always been curious about building client relationships and wanted to see how I would fare in sales. I knew some people who pursued sales jobs in tech or other industries, and I could picture myself doing the same.
I am grateful for the job I have and that I have been able to shape it to fit my interests and strengths.
27:59 Louis DeMaso
I can see how sales experiences help with communication and confidence.
Would you say that even when you’re not selling to a client, and you’re working on internal sustainability projects or pushing initiatives within a project team, you’re still selling?
28:20 Danielle Norwitz
That’s exactly right. Being in sales drives me to understand our services and our work thoroughly because I have to sell it, and I might encounter a variety of questions.
To prepare myself, I’ve even created a cheat sheet of all the questions I’ve been asked and how I could answer them. As a salesperson, it’s important to be extremely knowledgeable when talking to clients.
Teaching our tenant billing analysts the big picture is also a priority for me. While we discuss the monthly calculations they do, they may not understand how it impacts the client and the financial and operational aspects of our work.
Understanding the big picture is crucial to being able to delve into the details.
I want to make it a point to explain to everyone the importance of our work, in the language that our clients care about.
29:35 Louis DeMaso
It appears that improving communication is not the only advantage of learning sales; it can also enhance your understanding of the products and services your company offers and the value of the projects being worked on.
Many executives, including those in high-level sustainability positions such as ESG directors, would likely agree that they must sell initiatives and ideas to both internal and external stakeholders.
Interestingly, when considering working in environmental fields or having an impact, learning sales may not immediately come to mind. It may seem like an unrelated skill, but being able to sell ideas to people is crucial for making any kind of significant impact.
For sustainability job candidates, demonstrating the ability to learn quickly and communicate clearly can be more important than any specific credentials.
30:24 Louis DeMaso
So, let’s take this in a practical direction.
If you were hiring someone for your team, what would you look for?
30:30 Danielle Norwitz
That’s interesting because I’ve been involved in a few interviews so far.
I would say we’re looking for someone who’s interested in learning, because many of the services are not as simple as reading a PowerPoint. You need to understand the big picture.
We want someone who can come in, absorb the knowledge, reference our training, really understand our services, and be eager to learn.
Another important quality is communication.
Recently, I sent an email to a newer employee asking them to do something, and they responded by asking for clarification.
I appreciated this approach, as it saved them from going down the wrong path. Good communication skills are valuable to us.
31:25 Louis DeMaso
Asking questions is important, isn’t it? It’s related to learning because if you don’t ask questions, you can’t learn and end up feeling stuck.
31:32 Danielle Norwitz
Yeah, that’s exactly right.
31:36 Louis DeMaso
So, you mentioned that learning and communication are important. Are there any other qualities you would look for in a new hire?
31:41 Danielle Norwitz
I believe that taking ownership of your work and communicating it properly are key.
You’ve put in all this effort, so how will you demonstrate that you’ve done so? Will you arrange a meeting with me to explain it?
Being proud of your work and taking ownership of it is crucial, and we’ve seen that successful employees make their work their own in this way.
32:07 Louis DeMaso
It appears that such skills would be beneficial in any role. It’s intriguing that you did not mention hard skills, certifications, or similar requirements.
Do you think that someone aiming to work in energy and sustainability should pursue specific certifications, experience with reporting frameworks, data analysis skills, or anything similar?
32:31 Danielle Norwitz
Pursuing higher education or certifications, such as becoming LEED certified, can only benefit you. It shows your interest and specialization in the field, which is something we value as we build out our sustainability service.
However, having the ability to learn quickly is more important than formal credentials for success in this role. While our company highly values credentials, they are not a requirement for excelling in your position.
Our company really values a driven mindset.
“To anyone who is unsure of their career path, I suggest applying for everything and building experience. Keep researching and pursuing what you think you want to do. Just go for it.”
33:24 Louis DeMaso
I appreciate all the insights you’ve shared about your job, including what you enjoy about it, what’s most challenging, and the skills you rely on every day.
We’ve heard about managing projects, working with clients, maintaining client relationships, and even the sales component of selling not only services but also ideas and motivation for improvement.
It sounds like there’s a lot to keep up with regarding new regulations, available opportunities, and different markets that influence your work, but it also sounds exciting and impactful.
Learning about what you do has been fascinating.
Do you have any final recommendations for anyone who is interested in pursuing a similar career path?
34:10 Danielle Norwitz
Anyone can feel free to reach out to me after this episode. I’m happy to talk about my company, energy, sustainability, sales, or anything else you want to discuss.
I enjoyed being on the podcast and sharing my opinions on sustainability and energy. You did a great job of summarizing our conversation.
I’m grateful for the role I play in my work, but I believe in always striving for growth and improvement.
To anyone who is unsure of their career path, I suggest applying for everything and building experience. Keep researching and pursuing what you think you want to do. Just go for it.
34:52 Louis DeMaso
I love it. Thanks so much for sharing your time, Danielle. We really appreciate it.
34:55 Danielle Norwitz
Of course.
