California also forging ahead in improving energy performance of its buildings

Regularly we are reading about important developments in energy and climate policies in California that are the envy of America and globally. Pierre Delforge writes on the Natural Resources Defense Council about its policies to improve the energy performance of its buildings stock. Buildings: The Next Frontier for CA Clean Energy Leadership California’s ambitious … Continue reading California also forging ahead in improving energy performance of its buildings →

A new app for viewing an analysis of the energy usage of buildings

Software from ING, the Dutch global financial institution, is providing important information to building owners on how to navigate the transition from “brown” to “green” buildings. Duncan Jefferies explains in an article in The Guardian. How to save money and energy in buildings? There's an app for that Imagine you lease over 175 buildings in … Continue reading A new app for viewing an analysis of the energy usage of buildings →

Why Canada needs to give increased priority to low-carbon buildings

Where I lived in Canada, it is minus 30 degrees Celsius this week and then we can add in the wind chill. Undoubtedly the energy performance of the buildings is fundamental. Annie Bérubé, director of government relations at Équiterre, and Karen Tam Wu, director of the Buildings and Urban Solutions Program at the Pembina Institute, … Continue reading Why Canada needs to give increased priority to low-carbon buildings →

History shows there are lessons about living in harmony with nature without great dependence on technology

Mili Majumdar, Green Business Certification, Inc. in India, reviews several historical buildings in India on the Business World website. Her analysis shows that urban planners and architects need to go back to the drawing board and history books to take a lesson or two on how to design green buildings and create sustainable cities … Continue reading History shows there are lessons about living in harmony with nature without great dependence on technology →

Passive houses can be “affordable”

In the 1980s, Canada was one of the pioneers in ambitiously efficient housing, with its R-2000 programme that was showcased globally. It certainly got a lot of attention at the International Energy Agency and in countries such as Russia, after the demise of the Soviet Union. After some lea years, it is good to see … Continue reading Passive houses can be “affordable” →

This week’s briefs

This week there are some items that should be of interest to you. First, the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (eceee) provides an explanatory note on why the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, that is currently under revision, must focus on energy needs. Second, there is a good article on how to minimise … Continue reading This week’s briefs →

Britain sees advantages with Dutch “Energiesprong” approach to renovation

Somehow we have to a new approach or a new set of approaches to seriously renovate our entire building stock to an ambitious level (factor four?). Recently, BPIE stated that 97% of our building stock needs updating. Our low carbon strategies need us to increase our ambition, our population segments suffering from fuel poverty need … Continue reading Britain sees advantages with Dutch “Energiesprong” approach to renovation →

New report on building energy efficiency renovations

The International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) has been active promoting energy efficiency since its founding in 2009. Its membership now includes 17 of the Group of 20 (G20) economies, which represent over 80% of global energy use and over 80% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions IPEEC’s Buildings Energy Efficiency Task Group (BEET) … Continue reading New report on building energy efficiency renovations →

Scaling up energy efficiency projects

Daniel Hill writes a good article on the Sustainable Brands website about scaling up investments in energy efficiency for commercial buildings. What is your experience? Making Large-Scale Energy Efficiency Easier (and More Affordable) Energy efficiency is a simple, quick and cost-effective method to reduce both costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. That’s why companies … Continue reading Scaling up energy efficiency projects →

Blog from Catrin Maby – A Passport to a better building future? Putting the Building Renovation Passport in context

It’s good to see the growing support for the concept of the ‘Building Renovation Passport’, defined by BPIE in their 2016 study as ‘a document - in electronic or paper format - outlining a long-term (up to 15 or 20 years) step-by-step renovation roadmap for a specific building, resulting from an on-site energy audit fulfilling … Continue reading Blog from Catrin Maby – A Passport to a better building future? Putting the Building Renovation Passport in context →