WORKING DRAFTS: MEMBER INPUT WANTED: DEADLINE SEPTEMBER 3, 2010

Please visit the Working Group pages to download the drafts. Please suggest language that addresses any concerns or issues you may have directly into the document as tracked changes.  Send documents to Garth Otto (gotto@naseo.org) with the subject line indicating the working group you are submitting to, i.e. “CBC Input on XXXX Working Group.”

Join the Consortium Today!

Complete a Membership Registration Form. There is no fee to join. Please contact Abi Kallushi (akallushi@ase.org) with any other questions regarding membership that you may have.

New Resources for Members

Timeline

Download the CBC Timeline.

New Members Page

Have you just joined the CBC? Check out our New Members Page for key information on the CBC's tasks in 2010, timelines, and project contacts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's Plone? How does the CBC address existing buildings? How can I get in touch with other members? See our FAQ page for answers.

File-sharing on Plone

CBC working group members can now use a new online tool to collaborate on documents and coordinate activities. The “Plone” site, developed and hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on behalf of the CBC, is a members-only password-protected site. 

On this site you can:  

• Access working group membership contact lists
• Share resources
• Comment on working drafts and documents
• View what other groups are working on

See our FAQ to learn how to access this new tool.

News and Announcements

Join us at the ACEEE Buildings Summer Study

The CBC will be presenting a poster display on Tuesday, August 17, 2010 at the ACEEE Building Summer Study from 4-6pm. We will also host an informal session Thursday, August 19, 2010 starting at 2pm. Let us know if you will be at the Summer Study through this online survey, and we hope to see you there. 

Net-Zero Energy: A Directional Goal for Commercial Buildings:

One question raised repeatedly in almost all of the CBC Working Group calls was “What do we really mean by a ‘net-zero energy (NZE) building’?” And equally important, what does DOE mean by net-zero, and what did Congress have in mind when authorizing a “zero net energy commercial buildings initiative” in section 422 of the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA)?
It's a complicated question and here may not be a single “correct” answer.  Fortunately, though, it may not be a question that we have to answer precisely, right now, in order for the Consortium to make meaningful progress on our current tasks for DOE in technology roadmapping and market and policy assessments.  This article is based in part on a recent paper by Kate Marks et al. to be presented at the ACEEE Summer Study this month.
See the whole article and leave a comment to join the discussion.

 

Global Partnership for Continuous Improvement in Commercial Buildings Energy Performance

On July 19-20 the Obama Administration hosted the Clean Energy Ministerial in Washington DC, with ministers and government officials from 24 countries.  One of the 11 clean energy initiatives announced at the meeting is the Global Superior Energy Performance (GSEP) Partnership.  GSEP is a public-private partnership focusing on energy performance tracking and continuous improvement in energy management for commercial buildings, public buildings, and industrial facilities, based on the standards of practice and certification process defined in the forthcoming ISO 50001 energy management standard.
The GSEP Fact Sheet is on line here; more information on all the initiatives is available at the Clean Energy Ministerial homepage.

 

New CBC Steering Committee Member, NIBS, Renews its Consultative Council

As part of its Congressional mandate, the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) has renewed the role of the Consultative Council to identify key issues impacting the entire building community and provide recommendations to the President and Congress. The Council has identified six key areas of focus for its initial report—Defining High-Performance/Common Metrics, Energy and Water Efficiency, Education and Training, Codes and Standards Adoption and Enforcement, Sustainability, and Existing Buildings. Anyone is welcome to participate in the topical discussions and organizations are invited to become members of the Council. For further details visit NIBS’ website.

Consortium Newsletter

Did you miss the latest CBC newsletter? Access the Newsletter Archive to catch up on what you missed.

Past Events

CBC Capitol Hill Briefing; June 18, 2010

On Friday, June 18, 2010, the Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium (CBC) held a luncheon briefing as part of the High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC)’s High-Performance Building Week on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.  Over 80 attendees gathered to hear presentations on the value of public-private collaboration in achieving sector-wide market transformation.  Speakers included Jim Rannels, team leader at DOE’s Building Technologies program; David Terry, executive director of the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO); Bill Sisson, director of sustainability at United Technologies Research Center; and Kevin Kampschroer, director of the  Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings at GSA.

See presentations and pictures from the event.

 

Consortium Webinar Launch

The Zero Energy Commercial Buildings hosted a Webinar Launch on December 3, 2009.  Thanks to all those who attended. If you could not attend or would like to review the discussion, you can download a recording of the webinar (40 MB .wav file) or download presentations (1 MB .pdf file).