Reflecting on progress of building performance

High-Performance Building Week is a chance to reflect on the tremendous progress that's been made in all areas of the building industry, and to focus on ways our industry can work with policymakers at all levels of government for further improvements. This year's High-Performance Building Week is May 23 to 29, in conjunction with Building Safety Month (presented by the International Code Council Foundation, www.buildingsafetymonth.org).
High-Performance Building Week is organized by the High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC), an assembly of private sector organizations that provides guidance and support to the High-Performance Buildings Caucus of the U.S. Congress.
"Although ASHRAE has taken the lead on the HPBCCC, the ongoing events supporting the Caucus, and the annual celebration of High-Performance Building Week, the more than 100 HPBCCC member stakeholder groups play a key role in ensuring the success of this year's events. The goal is to represent all aspects of high-performing buildings," said Douglas Read, chairman of the HPBCCC, and ASHRAE's program director of government affairs.
Because policymakers often do not fully understand the complexities and needs of our industry, High-Performance Building Week also serves as an educational opportunity for these officials. To this end, several events are being held, including two briefings on Capitol Hill, and a meeting between White House officials and Congressional staff on past, current, and potential future federal funding of programs that impact the building industry.
To help draw attention to the accomplishments, needs, and importance of buildings, a press event will be held on Capitol Hill to kick-off the week's events. Congressional staff and building industry advocates also will be given an opportunity to see what high-performance buildings actually look like through a tour of a local college in the Washington, D.C., area that is moving toward higher performance by installing new equipment and systems in its buildings.
Although these briefings are targeted toward Members of Congress and their staff, briefings are open to the general public and free to attend. Briefings typically involve two to three speakers who deliver PowerPoint presentations, all of which are made available at www.hpbccc.org/events.php.
> "High-performance" can mean different things to different people. Drawing upon federal statute, for High-Performance Week, "high-performance" buildings encompass a comprehensive array of characteristics, including: accessibility, aesthetics, cost effectiveness, functionality, historic preservation, productivity, safety and security, and sustainability. Grounded in this definition, the first briefing will involve a panel of industry experts who will brief and advise members of Congress and their staff on the following topics:
How are safety and security issues addressed by high-performance buildings?
* How new and existing high-performance buildings create jobs, save taxpayer money, and conserve the environment;
* Financial barriers and solutions to high-performance buildings, e.g., lifecycle cost analysis and the cost-effectiveness of green technologies;
* Federal and state requirements such as the role of building codes, how they are developed and adopted, where they are going, and how that is determined;
* Research and deployment of high-performance building technologies and the needs of the building industry; and
* Operating and maintaining buildings for high-performance including workforce education, training, and certification.
The second briefing will provide in-depth information to members of Congress and their staff on three seminal reports. The first will be the Consultative Council's annual report to Congress, Moving Forward: Findings and Recommendations from the Consultative Council (www.buildingsmartalliance.org/ index.php/cc/). Other reports presented will be the Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Consortium's two congressionally directed reports (http://zeroenergycbc.org/), Next Generation Technologies Barriers and Industry Recommendations for Commercial Buildings; and Analysis of Cost & Non-Cost Barriers
and Policy Solutions for Commercial Buildings.
The intended goals of these briefings are to leave policymakers with an expanded understanding of building industry needs, and a stronger appreciation of the important role that the built environment plays in all aspects of society. With this new information, ASHRAE and other technical societies will continue working with policymakers and their staff to help craft legislation that will better address the needs of our industry.
For more information on High-Performance Building Week, visit www. hpbccc. org/hpbweek.php, or contact Mark Ames, ASHRAE's manager of government affairs atmames@ashrae.org, www.ashrae. org/advocacy or 202-833-1830.

COPYRIGHT 2011 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2011 Gale, Cengage Learning

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