Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium
The Zero Net Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium aims to improve the energy performance of new and existing commercial buildings by developing and disseminating energy-efficient technologies, practices and policies.
In the U.S., buildings account for approximately 40 percent of total energy consumption and 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. About half of this is attributable to the commercial sector, and commercial building energy use is growing more rapidly than residential sector energy.
The Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium (CBC) was launched in 2009 as the outgrowth of a multi-year organizing effort by the Alliance to Save Energy and several partner organizations. The CBC brings together a broad range of commercial building stakeholders to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Energy in accelerating technology innovation, process change, and market transformation to advance energy efficiency and ultimately achieve zero-energy performance in commercial buildings.
The CBC is part of the Zero Net Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative, authorized by Congress in 2007's Energy Independence and Security Act. It aims to establish major milestones for achieving zero net energy performance in new commercial buildings by 2030, 50 percent of all commercial building stock by 2040 and all commercial buildings by 2050.
