This study presents a summary of green building research through a bibliometric approach. A total of 2980 articles published in 2000–2016 were reviewed and analyzed. The results indicated that green building research had been concentrated on the subject categories of engineering, environmental sciences & ecology, and construction & building technology, and the keywords ‘building envelope’ and ‘living wall’ obtained citation bursts in the recent years.

Around the world, engineers, architects and policymakers have been exploring ways to deliver highly efficient buildings whose reduced energy demand is satisfied by clean, renewable energy. Building off of the broader concept of a green or sustainable building, the concept of the “net zero building” focuses on the energy dynamics and performance of the building. And as policymakers and leaders align toward the net zero concept, the focus on achieving deep energy efficiency has centered on integrated technologies as well as ways to connect buildings to the natural environment.

A Global Survey of Building Energy Efficiency Policies in Cities is a resource for city officials around the world as they design new policies for building energy efficiency, or review existing ones. The research should help close the evidence gap regarding city-level activity in building energy efficiency. As such, it is designed to be accessible to those working in the field in general, including researchers.