July’s already-sky-high temperatures and flash flood advisories are important reminders that a changing climate means increasingly hotter and wetter weather for Philadelphia.
To do our part to slow the rate of climate change, Green Building United is mobilizing during these lazy-hazy-crazy days of summer in preparation for a busy fall with both new and improved strategic initiatives.
Green Building United’s broad building energy performance strategic initiatives include:
- Support for implementing modern building codes for new construction and major renovations
- Benchmarking energy and water use in existing buildings
- Convening a peer action network for building owners and managers
By focusing on these three areas, Green Building United will help improve the quality and efficiency of all new construction and major renovation projects in the City, while supporting the improved performance of existing buildings through better measurement and tracking.
The result? Major reductions in energy consumption across sectors and building types, lowering costs and carbon emissions and creating a healthier and more prosperous city.
The Philadelphia 2030 District tours the Rittenhouse Claridge
Modern Energy Codes: Improving the Quality of New Construction
Philadelphia City Council unanimously voted to adopt modern building codes in Philadelphia, and the bill was promptly signed into law by Mayor Kenney. The 2018 International Codes represent an increase in energy efficiency of over 30 percent as compared to current codes. This change in Philadelphia applies to commercial and multifamily buildings since most residential buildings are still governed by the state’s Uniform Construction Code, which adopted the 2015 Codes with just a few amendments.
In a matter of months, Philadelphia transformed from lagging nearly a decade behind its peers to a nationwide leader in modern code adoption. This move is one important step toward the city meeting its goal to reduce carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050.
As a leader, Philadelphia will need resources to ensure smooth compliance and enforcement. Beginning this fall, Green Building United and its partners will offer trainings and networking opportunities to support energy code changes. Training for and communication between the architecture, engineering and construction industries and the code enforcement community is essential for the City’s full energy and energy cost savings potential to be realized.
Note: For our members that are communicating these upcoming changes to clients, please see the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspection’s latest code bulletin with details on implementation including the 6-month grace period to design to current code.
Energy Benchmarking: Measuring Existing Building Performance
In Philadelphia, more than half of the city’s carbon emissions come from the building sector. In addition, the average commercial building wastes 30 percent of the energy it uses. An important step in reducing buildings’ existing energy use, saving money and lessening environmental impact, is to first measure how the city’s largest buildings are performing.
As such, Philadelphia’s energy benchmarking and disclosure law requires large commercial and multifamily buildings 50,000 square feet and larger to annually report their energy and water usage. Benchmarking helps owners assess energy use, gauge performance relative to others in the marketplace and better understand how energy efficiency projects can offset their usage. Benchmarking is also an important tool used to assess the progress toward the broader energy goals set forth in Philadelphia’s Municipal Energy Master Plan and Powering Our Future: A Clean Energy Vision for Philadelphia.
This summer, Green Building United is managing the Philadelphia Building Energy Benchmarking Program on behalf of the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Sustainability. Green Building United ensures that building owners and managers comply with the law through a variety of means, including providing technical support for the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager – the free data management tool that owners use to share their data with the City.
Philadelphia 2030 District: Reducing the Impact of the Built Environment
The Philadelphia Building Energy Benchmarking Program aligns nicely with the Philadelphia 2030 District, an initiative led by Green Building United to reduce energy and water use as well as transportation emissions 50 percent by 2030. The Philadelphia 2030 District seeks to turn the abundance of building performance data into measurable actions.
Participating buildings benchmark their energy and water use then share this information with Green Building United through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager on an annual basis. Using this building-level information, Green Building United creates an individualized progress report for each building and measures aggregate district performance.
Throughout the year, Green Building United fosters a peer network of owners and managers to ensure that participating property partners have the knowledge and tools they need to reach the ambitious goals of the 2030 District. Resources include bi-monthly educational and networking events, building operator trainings, information on financing, as well as case studies and tours of exemplary projects.
With more than 18.5 million square feet committed to meeting the district’s goals, the Philadelphia 2030 District is continuing to expand its number of property partners and the number and types of committed buildings, all while broadening the range and depth of its offerings to help partners meet the reduction goals.
To get involved, see our Philadelphia 2030 District page.
Clearly, we are very busy this summer and are excited to report energy benchmarking and 2030 District updates in the fall and see how we are progressing towards the overarching goal of transforming Philadelphia into one of the greenest cities in the U.S.
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