Measuring the Climate Impacts of Building Performance Standards

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are emerging as an increasingly common strategy as cities, states, and organizations aim to reduce emissions from large buildings. But how much do these policies really decrease emissions? And how much should cities and states rely on them to meet their climate and emissions goals?

A new report from ClearlyEnergy and the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) provides key performance metrics for eight of the fourteen BPS policies currently adopted across the U.S.:

• The potential for avoided emissions from the policy and;
• How those emissions relate to the jurisdiction’s overall climate goal.

The study found that BPS programs hold an impressive potential for emissions reductions. The eight programs analyzed can be expected to remove the equivalent emissions from the states of New Hampshire and Delaware combined- every year.

So, how much do these programs help jurisdictions meet their climate and emissions targets? Emissions from existing large buildings range from a small percentage of a statewide GHG inventory to as much as two thirds of emissions in dense urban areas. BPS program design varies across jurisdictions with different considerations like timeline, size threshold for inclusion in the policy, target types, and different policy designs affecting the program’s possible impact.

Interested in learning more about BPS? Read the Climate Impacts of BPS here or visit our Center for Building Performance Standards hub for more resources.