About

John Forester, Founder & Principal

Twenty-one years in energy efficiency and design engineering, consulting and executive leadership. Fifteen of them spent building the energy, sustainability and building automation function at The RMR Group, one of North America's largest publicly traded real estate managers.

John Forester
John Forester · Founder & Principal

John Forester spent fifteen years as the executive responsible for energy, sustainability and building automation across a national institutional portfolio of roughly 2,000 properties and more than $40B in assets under management. He has been the engineer who designed the systems, the buyer who evaluated the vendors and the officer who defended the capital in front of the investment committee and reported progress to the board.

Few people have sat in all three seats. That combination is what REcapture sells: strategy that survives contact with an operating budget, because it was written by someone who had to run it and report the result.

“I founded REcapture because the portfolios with the most to gain from this function are often the ones least able to justify the headcount. They still need someone who has done it before and brings an ownership mentality to the decision table.”
2011–2026 · The RMR GroupVice President, Energy & Sustainability and Corporate OfficerBuilt the enterprise energy and sustainability function from the ground up and led it through promotions from Director to Senior Director to Vice President. Responsible for enterprise energy procurement and budgeting, science-based reduction targets, climate risk analysis across 1,800+ properties, a multi-vendor building automation platform normalized into a single data architecture, multi-year capital planning for energy performance, and reporting and compliance.
2010–2011 · BVH Integrated Services, a Salas O'Brien companyMechanical / Sustainable Design EngineerHVAC system design and load calculations for commercial buildings, campus master planning, net-zero energy and water project development, greenhouse gas emissions accounting and portfolio EUI benchmarking methodology.
2005–2010 · DMI Engineering ConsultantsEnergy Efficiency EngineerEnergy audits across commercial, institutional and industrial buildings and processes. Building energy simulation for utility incentive programs and LEED certification, cogeneration modeling, fundamental and enhanced commissioning, and equipment metering and verification, working alongside regional utilities on efficiency and demand response program delivery.
M.S. Engineering & Business · University of Maine B.S. Mechanical Engineering · University of Maine LEED AP OSHA 30-Hour NAREIT Real Estate Sustainability Council, founding member (2015–2026)

Portfolio results and awards shown on this site were achieved while serving in the roles above, principally at The RMR Group from 2011 to 2026. They reflect work done as an employee, not REcapture client engagements. REcapture and The Forester Group LLC operate independently of The RMR Group.Track record detail

Next step

Start with a 30-minute portfolio call.

No pitch. Bring a compliance deadline, a utility spend question or a capital plan you are not sure about, and leave with a clear read on what is recoverable.