Commercial, Demand Management, Energy Efficiency, Industrial  -  May 11, 2016

Better Buildings partners, energy efficiency commitments have tripled since 2011, DOE says

Since the program's inception in 2011, the Department of Energy's Better Buildings program — which brings private and public organizations together toward the goal of reducing energy use across various building types —  has resulted in energy cost savings of more than $1.3 billion. 

The DOE released updated metrics from the program May 11 at the Better Buildings Summit in Washington, D.C., noting that the number of challenge partners and energy efficiency commitments have tripled since 2011: There are now 310 Better Buildings Challenge partners who are set to achieve goals of at least 20% energy reduction within 10 years. Together they represent 34,000 buildings and facilities, 4.2 billion square feet, and $5.5 billion dollars in energy efficiency investment.

According to the DOE, the partners are decreasing energy use on average by over 2% each year.

More 60 new partners joined the Better Buildings Challenge this year, including Iron Mountain Data Centers, Nike, The Wendy’s Co. and CenturyLink Global Data Center Operations. A full list of all new partners can be found in the 2016 Better Buildings Progress Update.

Thirty-five partners have achieved their challenge energy or water savings goals, all ahead of schedule. Businesses that achieved their goal this year include Arby’s, Cummins Inc., eBay Inc., Hartford Financial Services, Havertys, Intuit, Nissan North America and United Technologies Corp. 

Four financial allies have also met their goals ahead of schedule: Investment Corp., Connecticut Green Bank, Enterprise Community Partners and Ygrene Energy.

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