Building Performance Standards
Resource Libarary

Explore our curated collection of Builiding Performance Standards Resources to help policy makers create meaningful standards and building owners effectively understand and implement them.
C40 Knowledge

Boston: Engaging communities on inclusive building policies

The City of Boston's 2019 Climate Action Plan (CAP) update identified high-priority strategies to accelerate progress toward the goal of making carbon neutral by 2050.

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C40 Knowledge

Portland: Closing the racial justice gap through building policy

The City of Portland has an ambitious commitment to be fossil-free by 2050 through its 100% Renewable Energy Resoultion, and the city is also a signatory to the C40 Net Zero Carbon Buildings Declaration.

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How to Prepare for Building Performance Standards: An Interview with New Buildings Institute

The standards experts at NBI explain how building owners and developers can get ready for ambitious clean-energy ordinances happening in cities and states throughout the U.S.

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Toronto's Green Will Initiative: Driving climate action in private commercial buildings

The Green Will Initiative creates a coalition of commercial building owners, propoerty managers and other stakeholders who are committed to addressing greenhouse gas emissions in Toronto's buildings.

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OUTCOME-BASED CODES FOR CITIES

This document provides jurisdictions with a new approach to shift their focus towards actual, measurable energy results and provides guidance for incorporating an outcome-based compliance path into current energy codes. The guide includes draft regulatory language as a framework around which jurisdictions can begin to align their energy goals through their building codes

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20% STRETCH CODE PROVISIONS

The 20% Stretch Code Provisions measures are the first outcome of a larger project that is focused directly on the technical development of stretch codes and standards, and on support for jurisdictions in adopting and implementing these policies. As jurisdictions move forward with the adoption of codes and policies that support building stock performance improvement, a set of increasingly stringent performance metrics are anticipated, ranging from a 20% improvement over baseline code performance to a policy that delivers zero energy performance in buildings.

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MOVING ENERGY CODES FORWARD: A GUIDE FOR CITIES AND STATES

Moving Energy Codes Forward: A Guide for Cities and States provides critical steps to achieve significant code improvements through the adoption of stretch codes and provides a practical framework for implementing advanced codes and outcome policies. It offers guidance, resources and examples of advanced code adoption based on New Buildings Institute's stretch code development and adoption experience working with states and communities.

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Model Stretch Code Provisions for a 20% Performance Improvement in New Commercial Construction

This summary document describes a set of code strategies that represent a 20% performance improvement for commercial buildings over the ASHRAE 90.1-2013 code baseline (and approximately similar savings over the IECC 2015 baseline).

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The Technical Basis of Building Performance Standards

As leading cities and states seek to meet their aggressive climate, energy, and decarbonization goals, they are turning increasingly to mandatory policies that require improved energy and emissions performance across their existing building stock. The most comprehensive of these policies is the BPS, in which performance thresholds are set that building owners must meet at a specified time or when a triggering event occurs. A BPS can address a range of emissions, energy and grid-related goals. This paper examines technical approaches used to set the key metrics for both buildings and fuels in performance standard legislation.

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Building Decarbonization Code

The Building Decarbonization Code is a groundbreaking tool aiming to deliver carbon neutral performance. The Version 1.2 code language from NBI serves as a building decarbonization overlay to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and is now compatible with ASHRAE 90.1. It is designed to help states and cities working to mitigate carbon resulting from energy use in the built environment, which accounts for 39% of U.S. emissions.

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40% Stretch Energy Standard

This guide is part of a larger project focused on the technical development of advanced energy codes and policies, and on support for jurisdictions to adopt and implement these approaches.

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