Author: Kim Gonzalez

Building Performance Standards and Their Impact to Projects in Design

Emerging as a key tool for cities and states to meet their climate goals, building performance standards are shaking up the building industry. Learn about how building performance standards work to lower building carbon emissions and how they are impacting building design and the energy modeling process, moving teams beyond code-based thinking.   To download […]
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Building Performance Standards for Decarbonization

A key component of accelerating decarbonization of the built environment is municipal & state policymaking requiring consistent ongoing performance/carbon reduction in buildings. Careful crafting of these requirements, called Building Performance Standards (BPS), is critical to their long-term success. This presentation will dive into the structures and frameworks that exist for this type of policymaking, compliance […]
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Gas Bans and Zero-Emission Appliance Standards: Emerging Policy Trends

  A growing number of jurisdictions are targeting the electrification of new construction by banning fossil fuel systems or adding electrification requirements to codes. California and New York are also moving toward zero-emission appliance standards that would phase fossil fuel equipment out of existing buildings when systems are replaced. This presentation will unpack these leading-edge […]
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Federal Building Performance Standard

On December 7, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the first-ever Federal Building Performance Standard. The Federal Building Performance Standard requires agencies to cut energy use and electrify equipment and appliances to achieve zero scope 1 emissions in 30 percent of the building space owned by the Federal government by square footage by 2030. As the country’s single largest […]
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Industrializing Construction to Increase the Speed and Scale of Building Decarbonization

Decarbonizing the U.S. building sector requires a rapid and sustained increase in the rates of energy efficient and low-carbon building retrofits and new construction. Given the speed and scale of action needed to decarbonize the built environment, new approaches are required to overcome traditional market and technical barriers. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Building […]
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Why COVID-19 Raises the Stakes for Healthy Buildings

Will you ever again step onto a crowded elevator without hesitation? Reach for a doorknob without concern (or gloves)? Easing social distancing restrictions might reopen businesses, but as long as memories of COVID-19 lockdowns are still fresh in people’s minds, the experience of being inside an office building most likely will not return to “normal.” […]
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