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  • U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Air Force Academy trade campuses in Season 2 of the Better Buildings Challenge SWAP
    U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Air Force Academy trade campuses in Season 2 of the Better Buildings Challenge SWAP

    Energy efficiency in buildings on college and university campuses around the country are of utmost importance and pose a great challenge. Can the U.S. Naval Academy help the U.S. Air Force Academy think differently about energy saving opportunities and solutions during an energy audit of the mid- century campus? In Season 2 of the Better Buildings Challenge SWAP brought to you by the U.S. Department of Energy, watch the U.S. Naval Academy team conduct an energy audit of the U.S. Air Force Academy campus in Colorado Springs, CO.

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  • Hilton Worldwide and Whole Foods Market energy teams SWAP buildings in San Francisco, CA
    Hilton Worldwide and Whole Foods Market energy teams SWAP buildings in San Francisco, CA

    In the Better Buildings Challenge SWAP, brought to you by the U.S. Department of Energy, Hilton Worldwide and Whole Foods Market — two industry giants at the top of their game in energy conservation — swap energy teams to conduct an energy audit and uncover energy savings at each other’s San Francisco properties. Watch the three episode web series premiering February 17th. See what the teams learned from each other and walk away with energy saving tips from the experts at Hilton Worldwide and Whole Foods Market.

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  • Check out the Better Buildings Solution Center
    Check out the Better Buildings Solution Center

    The Solution Center is designed to help your organization find a solution by topic, building type, solution type, building size, sector, technology, location, and more. Learn how a variety of organizations finance their building solutions, implement emerging technologies, build their team’s energy expertise, motivate staff, get buy-in from management, or establish community-wide initiatives. Explore the hundreds of solutions tested and proven by partners.

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Developing Innovative, Replicable, Market Solutions

Better Buildings Challenge
President’s challenge to CEOs, university presidents, state and local government leaders and building owners help lead the country to 20% savings over ten years; 300 organizations spanning more than 4.2 billion sq. ft. of building space have taken this leadership challenge

Better Buildings Alliance
More than 200 organizations representing 10 billion sq. ft. have joined this collaborative effort to develop high impact technical and market solutions for improved energy efficiency in commercial buildings.

Better Buildings, Better Plants
180+ industrial companies representing 11% of the U.S. manufacturing energy footprint participate in this voluntary pledge to reduce energy intensity by 25% over 10 years.

Better Buildings Accelerators
Demonstrating innovative approaches to address targeted barriers with national impact, including energy data, performance contracting, and strategic energy management.

Better Buildings Residential
Programs work with stakeholders to increase the number of high-performing, energy-efficient homes in the United States.

Superior Energy Performance
Providing a market-based solution for certifying manufacturing and commercial facilities that have demonstrated energy management excellence through the ISO 50001 standard and sustained energy performance improvement.

Making Energy Efficiency Investment Easier

Building Performance Database
9,000 users have accessed the largest searchable dataset of information about the physical and operational characteristics of real buildings, to understand trends in building performance

Building Energy Data Exchange Specification
A dictionary of 575 terms and definitions to facilitate consistent exchange of information on building characteristics and energy use

New Financing Solutions
Financial allies in the Better Buildings Challenge have extended $3 billion in financing and are sharing innovative solutions

Building Energy Asset Scoring Tool
500+ buildings have been scored using this tool that evaluates the physical energy efficiency of buildings to determine potential improvements

Home Energy Score
With 20,000 homes scored to date, this tool helps homeowners and homebuyers understand how much energy a home is expected to use and provides suggestions for improving its energy efficiency

Appraisal Foundation Memorandum of Understanding
The Appraisal Foundation with support from DOE will release practical guidelines for appraisers to properly evaluate energy performance when conducting building appraisals

Developing a Skilled Clean Energy Workforce

Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines
DOE partnered with the National Institute of Building Sciences to develop national guidelines for professional certification programs for key energy-related jobs to improve the quality and consistency of commercial building workforce credentials

Leading by Example in the Federal Government

New Executive Order
Extends Federal goals through 2025 with targets of 40% reduction in GHG emissions, increased use of renewable electricity of 30%, and improved building efficiency of 25% by 2025

President’s Performance Contracting Challenge
Agencies have contracted for $2 billion towards a $4 billion performance contracting goal to improve the sustainability of Federal facilities

DOE Leadership
DOE has reduced its GHG emissions by 34%, ahead of its 2020 target