by Rebecca Walker — July 21, 2010—Although California is a leader in green building and emissions reductions policy, its commercial structures account for 37 percent of energy use in the state — and as much as 80 percent is wasted, according to a study released by the nonprofit group Next 10.
“Up to 80 percent of the energy used by commercial buildings is going up in smoke,” said F. Noel Perry, founder of Next 10, an independent organization that supports research, education and action to improve California.
“As our state struggles to emerge from recession, relatively low tech energy efficiency fixes could save California businesses and the state government significant money and help to generate jobs,” Perry said in a news release about the white paper titled “Untapped Potential of Commercial Buildings: Energy Use and Emissions.” The paper was produced for Next 10 by the research and consulting organization Collaborative Economics.
California’s commitment to reducing electricity consumption of state-operated buildings by 20 percent by 2015 covers new and existing structures. Certain voluntary measures in the state’s Green Building Standards Code, known as CALGreen, are scheduled to become mandatory in January 2011 for new commercial and residential construction. But there is no equivalent that applies to existing buildings.
The paper acknowledges efforts to improve performance of buildings in the state, but stresses that much more can be done and identifies areas for improvement, potential barriers and solutions.
The full report is available for free download.
