Report: The Role of Building Performance Standards in National Decarbonization Efforts
To support the U.S.’s climate goals, a growing number of cities across the country have turned toward Building Performance Standards (BPS) such as NYC’s historic LL97 as a tool for reducing GHG emissions from the real estate sector, delivering on state and local government energy and carbon goals for the built environment and meeting their climate, equity, public health and financial goals. BPS are outcome-based policies and laws aimed at reducing the carbon impact of the built environment by requiring existing buildings to meet energy and/or GHG emissions-based performance targets.
In this new report prepared by GNFZ summer intern and high school senior from California, Aditya Nagapudi, we examine some of the leading BPS that have been enacted, their goals and the potential impact they pose for the industry, and how GNFZ certification can help buildings track, plan and meet these regulations.
Meeting the requirements of the various BPS policies include emissions reductions, reporting and third party verification. The design community, building owners, and facility managers across cities and states with BPS standards need to prepare for reporting requirements and consider strategies to meet their upcoming emissions limits. This will require third party verification for the emissions reported and a plan to meet the target goals.
This is where GNFZ, as the world’s premiere independent net zero certification body, plays an important role. GNFZ certification can be leveraged by commercial real estate professionals as a stepping stone to comply with BPS legislation – but also to go beyond it and differentiate their organization and its assets or portfolio as a market leader. Learn more by setting up a call with GNFZ today.
Aditya Nagapudi
Aditya Nagapudi is an ambitious high school senior at Archbishop Mitty High, San Jose, CA, and plans to pursue a major in business or economics with a focus on integrating social impact with business innovation. He views sustainability as a vital area where businesses can make a meaningful impact on society, and is eager to continue contributing to this social effort.