The Future of Buildings – – Better.

Building decarbonization is the reduction of green-house gas emissions resulting from construction and operation of a building. Near-zero carbon emissions can be achieved with a combination of reducing operational carbon, from energy and water use, and reducing the embodied carbon of the products and materials used in construction, maintenance, repair, and renovations.

Net-zero-energy results from providing on-site or off-site renewable energy to fully offset the energy used by a building. This is more easily achieved if energy efficiency measures significantly reduce the energy demand of the building first. Ideally all energy used by a building would be from low-carbon or carbon-free sources.

EUI is the total energy used by a building from all sources including methane (natural) gas, electricity, or other, by all occupants, divided by the gross square footage of the building.

Building performance standards are regulatory requirements at the city and state level to improve energy efficiency and encouraging reductions in water use and carbon emissions. BPS vary by jurisdiction, but generally have reporting requirements and impose fines for missing reduction targets.

Transition risks include legal, financial, reputational, and market risks that result from the transition to a lower-carbon economy. The terms “brown discount” or “stranded asset” may be used to describe a building that can’t meet market demands for low-carbon.