Better Buildings Initiative

The Better Buildings Initiative was launched in 2011 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to accelerate investment in the most promising technical solutions for improving buildings efficiency and share successful best practices among leaders in the public and private sectors. Still in 2017, the residential and commercial sectors together consumed 488 Mtoe, or 32% of total final energy consumption (TFC) in the country. The initiative helps owners and operators to learn about technologies, run demonstrations, network with peers and set ambitious targets, e.g. through the Better Buildings Challenge. It works with the national labs to test and validate technologies. It also supports public procurement and workforce training programmes. The long-term goal of the initiative is making buildings 20 % more energy efficient over a 10-year period.