This toolkit is designed as a first step in helping countries, cities and experts in developing, adopting and implementing their codes. In its present form, this toolkit is set out as a useful reference, but also as a means of assessing the potential of such information to help governments and other stakeholders. The toolkit covers five main topics: guidance for cities and jurisdictions that are just getting started, and tools that can provide inspiration and knowledge regarding code development, adoption, implementation and evaluation. However, this toolkit is also a research aide, helping understand where there may be gaps in information content or form. It can also be used to test the potential for scaling up of building energy code deployment using simple, replicable types of information sharing.

The tools and resources presented below cover four different stages related to building energy codes: development, adoption, implementation, and evaluation. Each stage is further broken down to help users find resources that may be relevant. For example, the section on implementation has 8 subsections including ones on developing implementation strategies, establishing institutions, and building enforcement capacity. For each tool or cluster of tools, the tables below provide a brief title focusing on the purpose, a list of the stakeholders that might find this tool relevant, a description of the tool with a link to the actual tool, and a description of how countries and cities might use this tool (potential application).

The toolkit is not meant to be a comprehensive reference of all code-relevant tools and resources, but rather, to highlight ones that might be relevant to countries that are seeking to develop new building energy code programs or are in the early years of developing such a program.