by Shane Henson — April 9, 2012—According to two new reports from the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization promoting energy efficiency, green building and environmental protection in the United States and abroad, a new kind of energy policy is creating skilled, export-proof jobs in cities across the nation. Under this type of policy, called building energy rating and disclosure, owners of large buildings track exactly how much energy their properties use.
When a building’s energy use is made transparent (given a grade that is published online or shared in a real estate transaction), it is like an MPG sticker for buildings, notes IMT. Americans can shop for office space or a new apartment with an eye on how much it will cost them in utilities. That, in turn, spurs owners to make their buildings more efficient, creating demand for specialists who can help reduce energy use, such as energy managers and auditors, sustainability consultants, and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) professionals, adds IMT.
Energy Disclosure and the New Frontier for American Jobs profiles business leaders who are adding jobs and expanding their client rosters. These are mostly small business owners who are pioneers in the emerging field of building energy management.
- In New York City, FS Energy has grown from 3 to 10 employees, thanks to the city’s Local Law 84. Under this law, all buildings in New York City over 50,000 square feet are required to submit an annual energy benchmark. Also included are properties with two or more buildings that total over 100,000 square feet and are on the same lot or under the same condo board. Steven Winters Associates has added more than 10 members of staff since that law took effect.
- Sustaining Structures, a Seattle firm, expects to triple in size in coming years, and has already seen its client base grow by more than 30% since Seattle’s rating and disclosure law was passed.
Analysis of Job Creation and Energy Cost Savings From Building Energy Rating and Disclosure Policy shows that current job growth is just the beginning. This analysis by IMT and the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, predicts that a national building energy rating and disclosure policy would create more than 23,000 net new jobs in 2015 and 59,000 jobs in 2020. It would also reduce energy costs for building owners, consumers, and tenant businesses by more than $18 billion through 2020. Just as crucial, the energy and greenhouse gas reduction would be equivalent to taking more than 3 million cars off the road each year.
