Group of people seated around a table in a meeting room.

By Monica Kanojia

The White House today announced several updates to the Energy Department’s Better Buildings Initiative, a cornerstone of the President's Climate Action Plan, aimed at doubling American energy productivity by 2030 while motivating corporate and public-sector leaders across the country to save energy through voluntary commitments. These commitments are paving the way to substantial energy cost savings, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, as well job creation in both the public and private sector.

This afternoon’s event included two major announcements related to the Standard Energy Efficiency Data (SEED) Platform™ Collaborative and the Building Energy Asset Score (Asset Score) – both of which address market barriers to energy efficiency by developing a standardized, interoperable ecosystem of analysis tools. As the availability of building energy data increases thanks to advances in technology, market acceptance and integration, and policy shifts, stakeholders need assistance streamlining and analyzing data to inform their energy efficiency efforts.

The DOE’s SEED Collaborative, which was launched last year, formally announced its partnership with 12 Inaugural Partners—first-movers in implementing the SEED Platform. Each jurisdiction will receive a complimentary SEED Platform account, intensive assistance in their efforts to collect and manage building energy data, and priority input on developmental updates. An integral aspect of this three year partnership is the value add for DOE—Inaugural Partners have committed to testing new Platform features, as well as sharing best practices with the broader community.

The Collaborative also introduced its newest Ally, C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a network of 80 of the world’s greatest cities representing over 550 million people and one quarter of the global economy. C40 was created, and is led by, cities focused on tackling climate change and its consequences, while increasing the health, wellbeing, and economic opportunities of urban citizens.

DOE also launched the Asset Score National Leadership Network, a landmark partnership between DOE and leading companies, federal agencies, and state and local governments to increase market use of the Asset Score and guide future improvements. The Leadership Network is an amalgamation of leading organizations representing a diverse set of sectors including commercial real estate; global infrastructure; energy services; state, local, and federal government; and design and engineering.

The SEED Platform and the Asset Score tools support DOE’s Building Technologies Office’s greater goal of continually developing innovative, cost-effective energy solutions. Both tools help decision makers collect, manage, and analyze information about building energy performance, effectively implement energy efficiency programs and policies, and better understand the opportunities for energy efficiency improvements and their associated benefits. The full list of partners for these new initiatives is below.

SEED Platform Collaborative Partners

Asset Score National Leadership Network Members

  • AECOM
  • Arup
  • Association of Energy Engineers
  • CH2M Hill
  • City of Milwaukee, WI
  • DNV GL
  • FS Energy
  • Ingersoll Rand
  • JBG Companies
  • Liberty Property Trust
  • Marriott International
  • Marx Okubo
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • Performance Systems Development
  • Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
  • State of Missouri
  • State of Rhode Island
  • Steven Winter Associates
  • Transwestern
  • U.S. General Services Administration