Policy Solution
Green building and energy efficiency standards
Mandate
Overview:
Summary: Green building practices and energy efficiency standards improve building performance that reduce solar gains, energy consumption, and urban heat islands.
Implementation: Adopt green building or energy efficiency performance standards for any public and private new construction or substantial renovations.
Considerations for Use: Resources associated with ratings and certifications can provide upgrade recommendations that are applicable to all buildings not only participating buildings.
- Policy Levers:
MandateMandates are government regulations that require stakeholders to meet standards through building codes, ordinances, zoning policies, or other regulatory tools. - Trigger Points:
Introducing new or updated zoning/codesIncludes codes, zoning requirements or by-laws pertaining to urban planning and building construction activity. - Intervention Type:
Buildings and Built Form - Sectors:
Buildings
- Target Beneficiaries:
Property owners, Residents - Phase of Impact:
Risk reduction and mitigation - Metrics:
Number and scores or levels of certification for buildings that receive ratings
Impact:
Implementation:
- Intervention Scale:
City, Nation, Region, State/Province - Authority and Governance:
City government, National government, State/provincial government - Implementation Timeline:
Medium-term (3-9 Years) - Implementation Stakeholders:
City government, Private developers - Funding Sources:
private investment, Public investment - Capacity to Act:
High
- Cost-Benefit:
Low - Public Good:
N/A - GHG Reduction:
High - Co-benefits (Climate/Environmental):
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions - Co-benefits (Social):
Increase property values, Save on utilities