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Requiring Building Retrofits

MCLI Recommendation: “Congress should consider adopting mandatory retrofit laws for energy conservation and decarbonization in existing commercial and residential buildings, and state legislatures should adopt such laws if the federal government fails to do so.”

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17 resources

Example States and State Governments

Washington’s State Energy Benchmark Law

In addition to benchmarking requirements for private buildings, Washington’s State Energy Benchmark Law (2009) put in place strict requirements for public buildings, including mandatory investment-gra...
Resource Private Entities

Report, The Impact of Fossil Fuels in Buildings

The Rocky Mountain Institute’s 2019 report, The Impact of Fossil Fuels in Buildings, offers a crash course in direct building emissions, showing where they come from and how they fit into the overall ...
Example States and State Governments

Colorado’s Executive Order D 2015-013

Colorado’s Executive Order D 2015-013 (2015) directs the Greening Government Leadership Council to work with all executive state agencies and departments to reduce weather normalized energy consumptio...
Example Local Governments

Austin’s Energy Conservation and Disclosure Ordinance

In addition to audit requirements, Austin’s Energy Conservation and Disclosure Ordinance (2008) requires multifamily properties that use 150%+ of average energy use for similar properties to conduct r...
Example Local Governments

New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act (2019)

New York City’s Climate Mobilization Act is an umbrella term for a set of laws, including Local Laws 92 and 94 (established through Int. 0276 and Int. 1032), which require certain existing building ro...
Resource Local Governments

Building Electrification Primer for City-Utility Coordination

The Building Electrification Primer for City-Utility Coordination was written to support cities in cultivating effective partnerships with utilities to accelerate the transition to building electrific...
Example Local Governments

Philadelphia’s Building Energy Efficiency Tuneup Requirement

Philadelphia’s Bill 190600 (2019) mandates all non-residential buildings over 50,000 square foot get tune-ups to bring their energy and water systems to their highest efficiency, or submit a certifica...
Resource States and State Governments

EE4All report, Equitable Building Electrification

The Equitable Building Electrification Framework report explains the steps that California must take to ensure that electrification helps close the clean energy gap and provides relief to millions of ...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon’s Executive Order 17-20

Oregon’s Executive Order 17-20 calls for high performance energy use targets in remodels of all existing state buildings, a ten year plan to maximize energy efficiency in all affordable housing stock,...
Resource Local Governments

Macarthur report, Energy Efficiency as a Tool for Preserving Affordable Rental Housing

The MacArthur Foundation’s commissioned report, Energy Efficiency as a Tool for Preserving Affordable Rental Housing, outlined public-sector policies for energy efficiency in multifamily rental housin...
Resource Local Governments

Report, Strategies for Massachusetts Municipalities to Implement Net Zero Building Mandates

This 2019 paper from the Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic at Harvard examines legal complexities that Massachusetts towns and cities must navigate when mandating reductions of greenhouse gas e...
Resource Private Entities

RMI Deep Retrofit Tools for Developers and Property Owners

The Rocky Mountain Institute catalogs tools and resources for developers and property owners to project techniques and savings related to deep energy retrofits, including energy software tools, financ...
Resource Congress

Proposed CLEAN Future Act (2020)

The proposed Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act (2020) is a large, economy-wide climate bill released by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Among ...
Example Local Governments

New York’s Executive Order 88

New York’s Executive Order 88 requires that public buildings of more than 20,000 sf benchmark their energy consumption annually. Buildings that receive low scores are required to undergo ASHRAE Level ...
Example States and State Governments

Hawaii Law Maximizing Energy Efficiency of Public Buildings

In July 2022, Hawaii adopted HB 1801, which requires and establishes deadlines for state facilities to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures. The Hawaii State Energy Office must collect ...
Example Local Governments

San Anselmo LEED Requirements

The San Anselmo Code of Ordinances (2010) requires LEED certification for certain new construction and renovations. New construction between 2,000 and 4,999 square feet must meet any LEED standard, pr...
Resource Private Entities

ASHRAE Advanced Design Guide Series

The ASHRAE Advanced Design Guide series offers contractors and designers tools, including recommendations for practical products and off-the-shelf technology, for achieving a 30% energy savings compar...