A building doesn’t have to be new to be efficient. Today’s leading building owners are retrofitting buildings, converting existing buildings into models of sustainability. Building energy retrofits are investments in efficient technology during building renovation. While most building owners still pursue single technology improvements, market leaders bundle together energy saving technologies to get deeper savings in a more comprehensive approach. Energy performance contracting is one business model that enables building owners to implement whole building retrofits and significantly lower energy consumption and operating costs. Essentially, the upgrades are paid for through energy savings over time. Photo credit: Jack Amick/Flickr.
This synthesis contains the key points of the Building Efficiency Initiative's 2016 report, Accelerating Building Efficiency in Cities: 8 Actions for Urban Leaders and directs readers to tools and resources for building efficiency action.
View a webinar held by the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities' Building Efficiency Initiative and partners from various sectors for an exploration of the report, "Accelerating Building Efficiency: Eight Actions for Urban Leaders." This research was produced in partnership with Johnson Controls and over a dozen other partners.
View the slides from a webinar held by the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities' Building Efficiency Initiative and partners from various sectors for an exploration of the report, "Accelerating Building Efficiency: Eight Actions for Urban Leaders." This research was produced in partnership with Johnson Controls and over a dozen other partners.
You can also read the report in interactive web version at www.wri.org/buildingefficiency.
With buildings responsible for 32 percent of global energy consumption and a quarter of CO2 emissions, there is a huge, under-tapped opportunity to create more sustainable cities through building efficiency. More efficient buildings can generate economic benefits, reduce environmental impacts and improve people’s quality of life.
The city of Milwaukee in the United States is improving energy efficiency in buildings by focusing policies and programs on individual sectors to meet their unique needs. Photo by Anne Helmond/Flickr.
For some building owners, renovations—including retrofitting heating, cooling, and lighting systems—can be a way to attract tenants.
Buildings are Mexico City’s number one source of greenhouse gas emissions and the focus of a new partnership to improve energy efficiency and create a more sustainable, competitive city. Photo by Alejandro Mejia Greene/Flickr.
Buildings are an important part of the sustainability picture for Mexico City.
A growing coalition of cities, NGOs, and private companies are advancing building efficiency efforts that save money and greenhouse gas emissions. Photo by Omar Barcena/Flickr.
Urbanization is reshaping the economy, energy systems, and climate of our planet. By 2050, the world’s cities are expected to add 2.
Experts attending an Institute for Building Efficiency roundtable agreed that it is time for more holistic approaches to building energy savings using available technologies to support the optimization of building performance. Intelligent efficiency looks beyond specific components – it enables a step-change in efficiency by using information and communications technologies to optimize...