ASHRAE Commits to Broad Building Decarbonization Initiatives in Position Document

ASHRAE issued a position document on building decarbonization and its role on mitigating the negative carbon impact of buildings on the environment.

ASHRAE Position Document on Building Decarbonization presents the society’s positions and recommendations for achieving a reduction in emissions through the renovation of existing building stock and improvements to new building designs.

The society’s position is that decarbonization of buildings and its systems must be based on a holistic analysis including healthy, safe, and comfortable environments, energy efficiency, environmental impacts, sustainability, operational security and economics.

By 2030, the global built environment must at least halve its 2015 greenhouse gas emissions, whereby:

• all new buildings are net-zero GHG emissions in operation,
• widespread energy efficiency retrofit of existing assets are well underway, and
• embodied carbon of new construction is reduced by at least 40%.

Additional positions and recommendations include the following:

• Increasing stringency and enforcement of energy codes are critical for decarbonization.
• Whole building lifecycle assessment must be considered in future building codes to reduce embodied and operational GHG emissions related to buildings and their HVAC&R systems.
• Building performance standards should be considered as a policy tool for existing building decarbonization.
• Decarbonization policies must contemplate and mitigate impacts on disadvantaged communities and less-developed nations.
• Building decarbonization strategies and policies must consider healthy, safe and comfortable environments; environmental and social impacts; sustainability; resilience; and economics.
• Promote research and development of heat pump technology.
• Support the development, update and adoption of relevant standards and guidelines that facilitate the whole life reduction of GHG emissions from new and existing buildings.
• Encourage greater collaboration and the development of standards and guidelines among the energy, transportation and building sectors to improve secure building-grid integration, data communication and optimization of energy performance (generation, use and storage).
• Work in partnership with industry to increase the capacity and opportunities for a skilled workforce supporting building decarbonization.

View the complete position document at ashrae.org/decarb.