This document is meant as an introductory brief for jurisdictions working on BPS to develop strategies, policies, and programs that address housing affordability and counteract displacement in that context. There is no one-size-fits all solution to addressing the myriad of issues related to housing affordability across jurisdictions, but this document seeks to describe the landscape of considerations and propose vetted paths forward.

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.

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.

This needs assessment provides the industry needs to establish and implement the BPS from the market perspective.

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are a key policy mechanism to significantly and speedily reduce the energy use and emissions of existing buildings. BPS is primarily being implemented by cities and states, as a means to reach their climate goals. Policymakers in cities planning a BPS are grappling with a host policy design questions

To support policymakers and interested professionals in this process, ASHRAE convened a BPS Working Group under its Task Force on Building Decarbonization (TFBD) that is working to produce a Technical Resource Guide that guides jurisdictions through the target-setting process and outlines the available methodology options. The guide also provides additional background in metric selection.

This document developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Task Force for Building Decarbonization provides an overview of the BPS development process, including considerations such as performance target-setting, implementation and enforcement timelines, equitable policy application, and compliance support. ASHRAE also compiled a list of BPS Resources and PublicationsPDF that provide an overview of BPS policy elements, performance metrics, relation with new construction, and available compliance tools.

Opportunities to Advance Demand This document is written to guide state and local governments that are developing a building performance standard in thinking through how it might encourage demand flexibility.

The costs of building energy improvement could be prohibitive for many affordable multifamily property owners and managers, but exempting them misses an opportunity to decarbonize buildings and improve energy equity for residents. This paper identifies potential solutions for improved energy performance of affordable housing.

Electrification is a key component of a comprehensive city decarbonization strategy. How can cities use building performance standards to advance electrification?

This document provides a high-level overview of the Institute for Market Transformation’s (IMT) model ordinance for a building performance standard (BPS).