Green building has received increased attention over the past decade from both environmental economists and policymakers. While there is no single definition of “green buildings” or its related policy, researchers and organizations tend to emphasize resource efficiency in building and reducing the impacts of buildings on human health and the environment.

Abstract

Potential gains from improving energy efficiency are substantial — not only in terms of saving energy and combating climate change, but also in terms of contributing to an array of other co-benefits, including improving human health and creating jobs. We asked Tim Farrell, Senior Advisor at the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency, what works best when it comes to boosting energy efficiency. He stressed that targeted policy measures and sufficient resources to support implementation and compliance are among a number of critical ingredients for success.

This evaluation, conducted by Industrial Economics Incorporated on behalf of BTO, centers on a retrospective cost-benefit analysis of selected Building America program activities in the new residential market. It estimates the economic rate of return by comparing the economic benefits attributable to a subset of key practices advanced by Building America to DOE’s total investment in the Building America program from its inception in 1994 through 2015.

Blockchain and other DLTs hold great promise to help solve key energy challenges. The growing number of connected devices and distributed energy resources is adding further complexity to the rapidly evolving energy system. Blockchain may play an integral part in connecting consumers, electric utilities and third parties to these devices and the wider system, in a more secure, efficient, and distributed way.

It is now established that energy use in buildings is a significant source of global greenhouse gas emissions and that abatement by the building sector can provide significant social, economic and environmental benefits. This paper examines the application of socio-technical transition theory to the building sector with Australian energy policy as a case study. The relatively high level of local building construction offers significant opportunities for market transition with appropriate policy settings so this national case has international implications.

Building energy efficiency is an important strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally. In fact, 55 countries have included building energy efficiency in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. This research uses building energy code implementation in six cities across different continents as case studies to assess what it may take for countries to implement the ambitions of their energy efficiency goals.

This manual provides guidance and best practices on how to use data for developing and implementing policy on building energy efficiency. The primary audience for this manual are the C40 cities in the Private Building Efficiency (PBE) network and the Municipal Building Efficiency (MBE) network. Most of the guidance is applicable to both PBE and MBE networks. Where guidance is specific to PBE or MBE,it is called out accordingly. The users of the manual include city policy makers, efficiency program administrators and data analysts as well as external consultants supporting them.

Energy efficiency delivers energy savings and therefore energy cost savings, as well as direct environmental benefits. Besides, as an indirect effect, it has smaller or larger consequences on other economic values. This report reviews current knowledge about the impact of energy efficiency improvements on the value of buildings. In particular, the methodology that can be applied to quantify the increase or decrease of property value linked to the energy performance and sustainability components is explained and different methods are compared.

This report presents the outcomes of a pilot study exploring how the building and planning system is delivering a sustainable built environment in Australia. It identifies four key issues emerging from the research highlighting both the challenges and opportunities in implementing ESD in the built environment in the Victorian context. These are: 1) the gap between the planning and building system; 2) weaknesses in the planning system; 3) governance, inconsistencies, and coordination; and 4) improving the system – networks and advocacy.

Buildings are the focus of European (EU) policies aimed at a sustainable and competitive low-carbon economy by 2020. Reducing energy consumption of existing buildings and achieving nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs) are the core of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the recast of the Energy Performance of Building Directive (EPBD). To comply with these requirements, Member States have to adopt actions to exploit energy savings from the building sector.

This paper introduces the major state-level regulations and policies for improving energy efficiency in buildings. The purpose of the review is to discuss the challenges and issues in policy implementation and the latest trend in adopting innovative instruments. The implementation of customer efficiency programs increasingly incorporates non-price instruments to encourage participation and deep savings. States pay attention to not only code adoption and update but also compliance and evaluation.

This study examines the sources of evidence that influence decision-makers who design or develop office buildings, and aims to explain why some managers engage more in evidence-based practice (EBP) than others. A mixed methods approach is conducted that combines quantitative results from 187 senior managers in the built environment and qualitative data from 18 interviewees. The respondents evaluated the use and trustworthiness of different sources of evidence, followed by an assessment of practitioners’ adoption and understanding of EBP.

There is now widespread recognition in the international community that the commitments made by national governments under the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015 cannot be achieved without concerted action by cities. Fortunately, many mayors have shown strong commitment to tackling climate change and a willingness to collaborate to achieve this goal.

India is expected to add 40 billion m2 of new buildings till 2050. Buildings are responsible for one third of India's total energy consumption today and building energy use is expected to continue growing driven by rapid income and population growth. The implementation of the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) is one of the measures to improve building energy efficiency.