IMT Releases Landmark Policy Report

I'm very pleased to announce that IMT has released a landmark report on building energy rating and disclosure policy implementation in U.S. cities and states, a reflection of how quickly these policies have risen through statehouses and city halls across the country. 

Five years ago not a single policy existed here, yet rich innovation by state and local policymakers has reshaped the landscape in bold ways. The policies that have been enacted -- many of which take effect this year -- will affect billions of square feet of space in offices, malls, warehouses, government buildings, hospitals and apartment buildings nationwide. For the first time, tens of thousands of businesses will have access to energy performance information for the buildings they occupy and pay energy costs. Many more states and cities are poised to follow leading jurisdictions with policies of their own.

That is why this report is important. Jurisdictions in the process of implementating policies, including New York City, Washington, DC, Austin, Seattle, San Francisco and the states of California and Washington, are tackling some big, complex issues -- many of which have dogged energy efficiency efforts for decades -- that blur the boundaries between the real estate, utility  and public sectors. They are doing so under severe budget constraints and, in many cases, a challenging political atmosphere. Moreover, they are the first. There is no blueprint for how to do this.

But as we know, our cities and states are innovators and inventors. With the help of industry, nonprofits, institutions, businesses and many other stakeholders, they are charting a course to implement these policies in ways that maximize the potential for reducing energy consumption in buildings, saving consumers money and adding real energy transparency in the property sector.

Our report examines the existing policies in states and major cities and distills the challenges and solutions now emerging from these jurisdictions, helping us learn the lessons that will help these policies evolve and make them as effective as they can be for governments, industry and consumers. The upside is tremendous. You can access the report here.