Category: Thought Leadership
Using Passive House to fast-track building electrification
Post / March 29, 2022
This guest blog was written by Bronwyn Barry, CPHD, board member of the North American Passive House Network and NBI Senior Fellow. A growing body of research tells us achieving deep carbon reduction targets of 75% or more will require electrification, including...
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at New Buildings Institute
Post / September 28, 2021
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
Post / September 7, 2021
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...
Students join Next Gen cohort to learn about getting to zero in the built environment
Post / July 19, 2021
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...
Utility Administrators Share Expertise on Zero Energy Programs
Post / March 17, 2021
Urgency to address climate change, along with policy and market forces trending toward a smart, flexible grid, has led a growing number of utility efficiency program administrators to consider ways to increase support for energy-efficient, zero energy buildings. With the...
Five Questions with Smita Gupta
Post / February 22, 2021
New Buildings Institute welcomed Smita Gupta as its new Director for Building Innovation in early February. We asked Smita five questions about her experiences over two decades in the energy and buildings industries. Here’s what she shared. Q: Welcome to...
Carbon a Key Focus at ACEEE’s Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings
Post / November 4, 2020
Every other year, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) welcomes energy industry professionals from around the country to its Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Centered around the theme, “Efficiency: The Core of a Clean Energy Future,”...
Reilly Loveland Wins USGBC Green Schools Ambassador Award
Post / March 12, 2020
NBI Project Manager Reilly Loveland was recently awarded the USGBC Center for Green Schools Ambassador Award at the March Green Schools Conference and Expo held this year in NBI’s hometown, Portland. Ore. We asked Reilly some questions about the award,...
The Embodied Carbon Conundrum: Solving for All Emission Sources from the Built Environment
Post / February 26, 2020
Increasing urgency among policymakers and the design community to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Accord has spurred more aggressive codes and energy policies in jurisdictions around the United States. These strategies are making gains on driving down carbon...
A Must Read: Landreneau’s Roadmap for Cleaner, Stronger Buildings that Help Solve the Climate Crisis
Post / October 30, 2019
Reducing carbon pollution and improving resilience in residential and commercial buildings across the United States was the topic of a House Select Committee hearing on the climate crisis last month. The hearing, “Solving the Climate Crisis: Cleaner, Stronger Buildings,” featured...