The Tripod: Three Essential Tools Supporting Decarbonization Planning

To stabilize the Earth’s climate, the building sector needs to achieve near zero carbon emissions by mid-century. Consequently, everyone wants to decarbonize their existing buildings, but almost nobody knows how to do it. Building professionals are very familiar with energy audits which lay out how buildings can save money by saving energy, but they typically are not familiar with retrofitting buildings to achieve low carbon outcomes, or “decarbonizing”. And achieving low carbon outcomes affordably is not easy. It requires the development of a long- term plan that takes advantage of key events in the life of a building, such as equipment replacement or refinancing, in order to keep costs down. Every building will need a decarbonization plan. Because decarbonization planning is a new process, USGBC, often in partnership with ASHRAE and NYSERDA, has developed three essential planning tools for the industry: a guide, a workbook, and a LEED credit. All three tools will be released this spring. • The Guide for Strategic Decarbonization Planning, by USGBC, ASHRAE, and NYSERDA, is the first time that the process of strategic decarbonization planning has been comprehensively explained. Due out this spring, the guide lays a step-by-step process for creating a good decarbonization plan, while explaining which strategies can be effective and which might be pitfalls to avoid. • The USGBC Decarbonization Workbook standardizes the information to be collected during the development of a plan and provides graphs to help project teams visualize their proposed progress. • The LEED v5 O+M credit rewards projects that create decarbonization plans which significantly reduce emissions from fuel burned onsite and energy use. The panel will introduce the audience to the strategic decarbonization planning process, present the three tools, and provide examples of good strategic decarbonization plans that have been developed in New York State.