The Better Buildings Challenge, a DOE leadership initiative, had unprecedented growth and took on new challenges in 2014. There are now more than 200 organizations partnering with the Department of Energy to achieve 20 percent portfolio-wide energy savings and share successful strategies that maximize efficiency over the next decade. To date, Better Buildings Challenge partners have saved 36 TBtus equal to $300 million dollars. 


Below are 5 highlights we are proud to share from 2014:

  1. Many new partners joined the Better Buildings Challenge.

Partners represent a diversity of sectors and have committed more than 3 billion square feet and 600 manufacturing plants and facilities to energy efficiency improvements. In addition, financial allies are committed to $2billion in financial commitments.


New partners include:

  • Walmart, Whole Foods, Hilton Worldwide, Penn State University, Facebook, ebay inc., the cities of Philadelphia, PA, Chula Vista, CA, the states of Maryland and New York, manufacturers such as Volvo, Darigold, General Mills, Eastman Kodak, and multifamily residential housing organizations like Balfour Beatty, Jonathan Rose, and Housing Authorities in the cities of Atlanta, GA, Baltimore, MD, and Tampa, FL.
  1. Partners were recognized at the first national Better Buildings Summit for progress made in meeting their 20% energy goals.

Partners met in Washington D.C. for two and a half days of presentations and discussion focused on the sharing of their solutions and exchange of proven models and strategies for energy efficiency. Better Buildings Challenge partners were recognized at a White House event for their progress, commitments to sharing results and transparency, and leadership. More information is available on the Better Buildings Summit website.


Partners were recognized for achieving portfolio-wide savings greater than 10% include:

  • Best Buy, Camas School District, Cummins, Legrand, Lend Lease, Macy’s, Michigan State University, Poudre School District, Schneider Electric, University of California-Irvine, and the cities of Beaverton and Hillsboro, Oregon and the state of Delaware.
  1. The Better Buildings Challenge expanded to new energy uses and a water savings pilot.
  • May 7, 2014: Water Savings Pilot launched with 20 existing Better Buildings Challenge partners expanding their commitments by demonstrating the energy savings possible through the energy efficient transport and treatment of water.
  • September 30, 2014: Data Center expansion with 20 partners altogether committing nearly 40 data centers or 100 MW.
  1. Better Buildings Accelerators launched as part of the President’s Climate Action Plan, to address specific critical and persistent barriers to energy efficiency.

A diverse set of leaders are participating in five Better Buildings Accelerators:

  • Energy savings performance contracting: 20 states, cities, and k-12 school districts commit to deploying ESPC with a collective goal of $2B.
  • Industrial superior energy performance: 5 manufacturers and 3 utilities/program administrators develop strategies for enterprise-wide or rater-payer funded energy management strategies.
  • Energy data access: 20 city-utility pairs are partnering to make it easier for building owners to get access to whole-building energy usage data for benchmarking their buildings.
  • High performance outdoor lighting: 11 cities, states, and regional groups commit to replacing street-lighting with efficient technologies.
  • Data center efficiency: 10 federal and private sector companies commit to improving a single data center’s energy use by 25% in five years.
  1. Better Buildings Challenge partners doubled the number of solutions they are sharing.

In the past year, partners have doubled the number of solutions they are sharing with more than 90 showcase projects and 60 implementation models posted to the Better Buildings Challenge website. These solutions provide inside-looks at the innovative strategies organizations are deploying to achieve energy savings through energy efficiency. Each solution is a proven model documenting how an organization improved energy efficiency and is backed up by actual cost and energy savings data. These models outline approaches to energy management across a building portfolio and represent a variety of sectors, building types, building sizes, and align with a mix of organizational goals. We are excited to hear more about these solutions at our 2015 Better Buildings Summit taking place this May.

The Better Buildings Challenge is a voluntary leadership initiative that asks leading CEOs and executives of U.S. companies, universities, school districts, multifamily residential organizations, and state and local government to make a public commitment to energy efficiency. Through the Better Buildings Challenge, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is highlighting leaders that have committed to upgrading buildings and plants across their portfolio, and providing their energy savings data and strategies as models for others to follow.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) success stories highlight the positive impact of its work with businesses, industry partners, universities, research labs, and other entities.