Efficient buildings—those that make highly productive use of natural resources—are vital to achieving sustainable development: They align economic, social, and environmental opportunities, creating so-called “triple bottom line” benefits.
The Accelerating Building Efficiency: Eight Actions for Urban Leaders provides local governments and other urban leaders in cities around the world with the background, guidance, and tools to accelerate building efficiency action in their communities. The report focuses on eight categories of policies and actions that can help decision-makers plan for transformative change in their cities: Building Efficiency Codes and Standards; Efficiency Improvement Targets; Performance Information and Certifications; Incentives and Finance; Government Leadership by Example; Engaging Building Owners, Managers, and Occupants; Engaging Technical and Financial Service Providers, and Working With Utilities.
The report highlights how policy can help overcome barriers to investment by aligning the interests of all actors at each stage of a building’s lifecycle in order to make the pursuit of building efficiency a compelling choice, and how policy packages can be designed to target key barriers to energy efficiency in any given market, bridge the efficiency gap, and create an opportunity for scaling up efficiency solutions and investment.