New Resource from SEE Action Network: How State & Local Agencies Can Save Energy in Buildings

Greater Energy Savings through Building Energy Performance Policy, a new report by the Department of Energy’s State & Local Energy Efficiency Action Network (SEE Action) provides recommendations for state and local governments to design policies and programs to achieve measurable improvements in efficiency outcomes in commercial buildings. The vision for the document is a future where energy efficiency policies for commercial and publicly-owned buildings are informed by and directly tied to actual energy performance. Measured energy performance is a driver for building energy programs and policies that help capture cost-effective energy savings over the lifetime of building.  The paper outlines four leading policy initiatives to achieve this:

• Outcome-based building policies
• Performance incentives
• Property valuation and appraisal policies
• Utility program policy and partnerships

NEEP’s Carolyn Sarno, who serves as co-Chair of SEE Action’s Existing Commercial Buildings Working Group and co-chaired the Policy and Codes Subcommittee alongside Sean Dennison from New Buildings Institute led the development of this guidance document. Read the report Listen and watch a recent webinar on the report