National BPS Coalition

What is the National Building Performance Standard (BPS) Coalition?

The National Building Performance Standards Coalition comprises a nation-wide group of state and local governments that have committed to inclusively design and implement equitable building performance standards and complementary programs and policies, working to advance legislation and/or regulation, with a goal of adoption by Earth Day, 2024.

Why buildings?

Buildings are central to our lives, economy, and environment. Their performance impacts indoor and outdoor air pollution and the health of our communities. The energy they use is a significant cost to households and businesses, and 17% of our GDP is attributed to construction, real-estate, and housing. In the U.S., buildings are the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, representing 35% of total energy-related emissions. This is split almost evenly between commercial and residential buildings. The US has set a goal to reduce emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels, by 2030. The math is clear: Tackling climate change and meeting our goals can only be achieved with significant emissions reductions from buildings. This can be accomplished by increasing their clean energy use and overall efficiency.

What are Building Performance Standards?

Building performance standards are state and local laws that require existing buildings to achieve minimum levels of energy or climate performance. Working in tandem with new construction energy codes, these policies empower state and local leaders to deliver on their energy, and equity goals through accelerated retrofits.

The holy grail of decarbonizing buildings is cracking the nut of existing buildings. Building on the success of early adopters, the next wave of building performance standards and complementary policies promise to unlock additional uptake existing building retrofits. Nationally, we took a momentous step forward in 2021, when the federal government committed to the first-ever federal BPS that will include zero emission requirements, and the number of state and local jurisdictions adopting building performance standards doubled to nine. The collective work of the Coalition members will propel these successes even further.

Why place requirements on private businesses and buildings?

Historically, governments and utilities have relied on voluntary incentive programs to achieve better building performance and reduced emissions. However, national experience over the past 40 years makes it clear that the of action must increase to achieve the aggressive energy savings and emissions reductions needed to secure a healthy, sustainable future – and to do so equitably. Understanding this, leading policymakers are shifting to policies that can address buildings across their life cycle, beyond new construction. While building performance standard set mandatory performance requirements, building owners retain the power and flexibility in how individual buildings achieve their targets. Owners can use whatever technologies and operational strategies they decide are most effective and economical to meet their targets. BPS also recognize that not all buildings can be made into high-performing properties immediately. To address this, BPS establish long-term standards with interim targets that ratchet up over time. This combination of short-and long-term goals gives building owners the certainty they need to make confident investments in their properties, allows buildings to improve over time, and sends market signals to discourage investments in long-lived, inefficient, and environmentally damaging technology. In addition, throughout a BPS performance cycle, government leaders are ideally working with the private sector, utilities, community groups, and others to create incentives, programs, and technical assistance to support building owners and tenants in meeting performance targets.

What is the estimated impact of the National BPS Coalition?

The nonprofit Institute for Market Transformation estimates that, as of August 2024, the governments of the National BPS Coalition account for about a quarter of the large building space in the United States. It also projected that, if all participants are successful in standing up retrofit policies and related programs for retrofits, the scale of impact from building and operational improvements through efficiency and electrification will be as much as:

• Better buildings for over 90 million people

• $132 billion cumulatively invested in buildings through 2040

• 676 million metric tons of CO2e cumulatively eliminated through 2040

How does the National BPS Coalition work?

President Biden launched the Coalition on January 21, 2022, with 33 inaugural jurisdictional participants. In support of participating jurisdictions, federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency are providing technical assistance. The Department of Energy also offers several funding programs for state and local governments to support their policy implementation and building retrofit activities. Federal support to Coalition members is complemented by non-governmental and labor organizations offering resources for workforce engagement, equity strategies, localized policy design and stakeholder engagement.

How is Coalition work different from a city, county or state sustainability plan?

Coalition work integrates into existing sustainability plans so that participating jurisdictions and communities can reach their energy, climate, and economic goals. BPS focus specifically on building performance while a sustainability plan may include transportation, land use, and more.

Can my state, city or county participate in the Coalition?

If the commitment statement in “Coalition Participants and Their Commitments” aligns with your jurisdiction’s plans, priorities, and capacity, please use the “Contact Us” option on this page.