New Buildings Institute Blog

New coalition to tackle emission reductions in existing buildings

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Sarah Chaney

Source: IMT President Biden announced Friday the first-of-its-kind Buildings Performance Standards Coalition during remarks at the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting. The announcement highlights the importance of enacting policy to support emission reductions in all buildings—both new and existing....

Scaling up market transformation for heat pump water heaters

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Smita Gupta

While the average person might not think about it when turning on the faucet, changing the way you heat water in your home or business could drastically reduce your carbon footprint. Water heating accounts for a large share of the...

Hopeful in 2022 during this make-or-break year on climate change

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Ralph DiNola

We are optimists, and a new year offers opportunities for inspiration and hope. Our current challenges seem unrelenting. But even as we battle several emergencies all at once, we see bright spots of opportunity for necessary and significant progress to...

Proposals to drastically cut GHG delivered to IECC committees

Posted on October 13, 2021 by Kimberly Cheslak

This week, New Buildings Institute (NBI) submitted code change proposals to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) residential and commercial development committees. These proposals have the potential to drastically reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the building sector and help...

Schools collaborate on the roadmap to zero carbon

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Reilly Loveland

As we witness the consequences of rapid, widespread and intensifying climate change, our students face the prospect of worsening impacts in the world they will inherit. Students are demanding a more hopeful and sustainable future and are also asking for...

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at New Buildings Institute

Posted on September 28, 2021 by Leada Fuller-Marashi

We recognize there are structural injustices and inequities in our systems and climate work. NBI is committed to the journey necessary to ensure every member of our society has equal access to and benefits from zero energy and zero carbon....

An Insider’s Guide for Our Clean Energy Future

Posted on September 7, 2021 by Webly Bowles

The latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change (the Sixth Assessment Report) sounded an alarm about the urgent need to transition to net zero carbon emissions to avoid global temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius. With buildings representing...

Empowering Communities to Accelerate Distributed Energy Resources

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Diana Burk

In many parts of the United States, navigating the building permits required for distributed energy resources such as solar, storage, and electric vehicles (EVs) can be a daunting process. Many communities have burdensome requirements for installing such technologies and/or lack...

Codes for Loads – Making Our Buildings Work with Renewable Power Grids

Posted on July 22, 2021 by Jim Edelson

Thirty states and the District of Columbia have adopted Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), policies that require or set goals for all energy supply to be renewable by a chosen date mostly within the next two decades. The Biden Administration earlier...

Students join Next Gen cohort to learn about getting to zero in the built environment

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Leada Fuller-Marashi

This blog was originally published on gettingtozeroforum.org on July 9, 2021. NBI is excited to welcome 20 students from college campuses across the United States and Canada to the inaugural cohort of the Next Gen program. Next Gen was designed...