The Better Buildings Initiative was designed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2010 to improve the energy efficiency of commercial and residential buildings by 20 percent by 2020. Since its inception, it has tripled in size and scope. In 2011, President Obama championed the Better Buildings Challenge, propelling organizations to improve their building efficiency by 20 percent or more. More than 310 organizations have participated in the challenge, each professing energy savings of more than 2 percent annually, totaling over $1.3 billion. That adds up to 160 trillion Btus, 10 million tons in avoided carbon emissions, and 2.3 billion gallons of water saved.
Image Source: Energy.Gov
Participating organizations are allied behind a common goal: to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. Each are sharing their proven strategies to achieving energy and carbon reductions. “The Better Buildings Solution Center now has more than 400 replicable strategies for overcoming barriers to efficiency, and achieving deep savings in individual properties and across broad portfolios.” The Better Buildings Challenge has gained enough traction to warrant a Web series called the Better Buildings Challenge SWAP. Prism reported on the SWAP and analyzed their results in one of our previous articles.
Cumulative Results
Each year, the Better Building’s Initiative grows exponentially. In 2012, 110 organizations made commitments to the endeavor. In just a few years, the number of companies has grown by over 64% to 310. The results from just 2014 to 2015 are staggering:
Image Source: U.S. Department of Energy
The Energy Leaders
In the past year, 19 participants in the Challenge have met or exceeded their energy savings, water savings, or financial goals: 11 energy goal achievers, 4 water goal achievers, and 4 financial achievers. Poudre School District, in particular, achieved both energy and water goals.
Energy Goal Achievers
Nissan North America: 30%
Victor Valley Wastewater Reclamation Authority (VVWRA): 27%
eBay, Inc.: 25%
Poudre School District (PSD): 25%
Arby’s: 24%
River Trails School District 26: 23%
State of Delaware: 23%
Haverty’s: 22%
City of Hillsboro, OR: 21%
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.: 21%
Intuit: 21%
Water Goal Achievers
Cummins, Inc.: 45%
United Technologies Corporation (UTC): 43%
Poudre School District (PSD): 29%
Atlanta, GA: 20%
Financial Ally Goal Achievers
Enterprise Community Partners: $130 million
Ygrene Energy: $100 million
Community Investment Corporation (CIC): $25 million
Connecticut Green Bank: $25 million
A list of the 2014 and 2013 goal achievers can be found in the full U.S. U.S. Department of Energy report.