Public Buildings Portfolio Management Helps Cities Get on Track to Meet Climate Goals

Post / September 16, 2019

Hundreds of cities across the country have set bold, aggressive energy and climate goals. Yet most of these communities are not on track to meet their goals, according to the latest City Clean Energy Scorecard, released in July by American...

Is Your City and State Ready to Vote on the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code?

Post / August 22, 2019

State and local government representatives have the power to advance local energy codes and improve the comfort and health of residents by participating in and voting for efficiency proposals in the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) update. But they...

U.S. Conference of Mayors Unanimously Resolves to Support Advancements to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)

Post / August 16, 2019

The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) is known for tackling issues of national importance. Climate change is one of those critical issues that the mayors addressed at their 2019 annual meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. On July 1, 2019, the USCM...

Key Takeaways From Recent IECC Code Development Hearings

Post / June 10, 2019

Code officials, architects, builders, engineers and energy conservation professionals gathered last month in Albuquerque for the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)’s Committee Action Hearings. The proceedings were the first step in a lengthy stakeholder process to update the 2021 IECC,...

Efficiency and Carbon Reduction Goals Converge at the Built Environment

Post / April 17, 2019

With mounting evidence that immediate and aggressive action is necessary to address climate change, combined with a lack of leadership on this issue by the federal government, state and local governments are taking meaningful actions to adopt, honor, and meet...

A Small Window of Opportunity to Make Huge Gains in Climate Action

Post / March 19, 2019

Cities face unrelenting demands on policy priorities. Affordable housing, transportation, economic development, climate action, and other pressing issues compete for limited resources and funds. Now is a moment in time, however, when the opportunity to make significant progress toward carbon...

2019 is the Year of Energy Codes

Post / January 14, 2019

If there’s a defining theme for the building sector in 2019, it’s energy codes. Actions to update the rules that cities and states set to determine how effectively new residential and commercial buildings use energy are progressing on several fronts...

New York Invests in Energy-Saving Strategies to Meet Climate Action Goals

Post / January 4, 2019

New York has emerged as a shining star in local energy policy with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement early last year of an ambitious energy efficiency target to reduce energy consumption by 185 trillion BTUs (British thermal units) by...

Four States Make Strides on Advancing Energy Codes

Post / December 5, 2018

Massachusetts, California and Rhode Island come out on top in the 2018 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard released this fall. The three states ranked high on six categories including utility programs, transportation, building energy codes, combined heat and power, state initiative and...

Ithaca Leads in New York for Net Zero Energy Building Standards

Post / November 29, 2018

The energy use in buildings across the town and city of Ithaca is responsible for nearly 75% of carbon emissions, according to the local sustainability officials. To reduce its carbon footprint, the two jurisdictions are taking important steps to increase...