Building Industry Groups Launch Zero Net Energy Push
The Commercial Building Initiative brings together government and industry groups working to make every building, new and old, carbon neutral by 2030.
The Commercial Building Initiative brings together government and industry groups working to make every building, new and old, carbon neutral by 2030.
Unveiled at a workshop last month in Washington, the CBI brings the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers , the American Institute of Architects, the United States Green Building Council, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the U.S. Department of Energy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Alliance to Save Energy. Together, these groups will plan, coordinate, and implement strategies that will completely overhaul how commercial buildings use energy in coming decades.
Because buildings in the U.S. are responsible for 70 percent of total energy use, as well as 40 percent each of total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, improving building performance has become a key environmental strategy. The CBI was launched to leapfrog past current building energy efficiency programs, which the group says have made important progress, but which often comes in fits and starts.
Instead, through its comprehensive strategies of technological and policy innovation, the group believes it can make zero net energy buildings a widespread and affordable reality. These buildings use 50 to 70 percent less energy than comparable traditional buildings, and the remaining energy use comes from renewable sources, like solar panels or wind turbines incorporated into the facility itself.
More information about the Commercial Building Initiative is available from the group's website, and the CBI will hold another workshop on its plans at ASHRAE's winter meeting on January 22 in New York City.
Unveiled at a workshop last month in Washington, the CBI brings the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers , the American Institute of Architects, the United States Green Building Council, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the U.S. Department of Energy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Alliance to Save Energy. Together, these groups will plan, coordinate, and implement strategies that will completely overhaul how commercial buildings use energy in coming decades.
Because buildings in the U.S. are responsible for 70 percent of total energy use, as well as 40 percent each of total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, improving building performance has become a key environmental strategy. The CBI was launched to leapfrog past current building energy efficiency programs, which the group says have made important progress, but which often comes in fits and starts.
Instead, through its comprehensive strategies of technological and policy innovation, the group believes it can make zero net energy buildings a widespread and affordable reality. These buildings use 50 to 70 percent less energy than comparable traditional buildings, and the remaining energy use comes from renewable sources, like solar panels or wind turbines incorporated into the facility itself.
More information about the Commercial Building Initiative is available from the group's website, and the CBI will hold another workshop on its plans at ASHRAE's winter meeting on January 22 in New York City.
