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Commercial Building Energy Alliances

The Commercial Building Energy Alliances, formed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), but driven and managed by the stakeholders they represent, will ultimately transform the energy efficiency of commercial buildings throughout the United States. The alliances are a critical piece of the Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative, the umbrella initiative that guides and coordinates public and private partners toward the goal of cost-neutral net-zero energy buildings in all climate zones and for all building types no later than 2025. Here you will find an overview of each alliance and how they operate. The alliances currently focus on the following areas:

• Retailer Energy Alliance

  Buildings are a huge part of a retailer's operating budget. The Retailer Energy Alliance has attracted large and small retailers committed to reducing the energy costs, greenhouse gas emissions, and overall operating risks of retail businesses.

• Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance

  Those who build, manage and sell buildings are perhaps most susceptible to volatile energy prices and the effect of greenhouse gas reduction policies on profitability. The Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance brings together portfolio owners and operators to promote research, technology, and best practices that will improve the energy efficiency of commercial real estate buildings.

• Institutional Energy Alliances

  Energy-efficient buildings for our country's state and local governments, colleges and universities, and hospitals ultimately benefit the people they serve. The Institutional Energy Alliances bring these groups together to define a clear path to present and future cost and energy savings.

How the Alliances Operate

Members of each alliance participate in face-to-face meetings, periodic conference calls, and online networking to set the goals and strategies for the alliance. Through these forums, members:

• Discuss unique energy challenges facing particular building types and business sectors
• Share non-proprietary information that can accelerate the adoption of technologies
• Achieve cost reductions in high-efficiency building equipment through combined purchases
• Engage building owners in their sector in conducting energy savings assessments that benchmark energy consumption and identify process and equipment improvements
• Define potential areas of high-impact research and development
• Explore variations to system designs suited to specific geographical locations (e.g., evaporative cooling in the southwestern United States).