Sustainability Insights

Issue 2

Building enclosure commissioning nears the tipping point
Building enclosure commissioning (also referred to as exterior envelope or building assemblies), or BECx, has been drawing ever-increasing attention in the high performance design world. It has been permitted as an innovation credit in the LEED rating system for the last several years. What does BECx actually entail? Should all high performance building projects pursue BECx in addition to commissioning energy-consuming and energy-generating systems? Is BECx on the verge of a huge market push like HVAC commissioning was during the initial years of LEED? Read the article.

Seven trends to tackle split incentives in energy upgrades
The interests of a tenant do not always align with the landlord’s interests, whether they relate to renting an apartment month-to-month or leasing a big box store under a 10-year agreement. While a court of a law decides an unfortunate share of these disagreements, this discrepancy of interests has lead to complexity and frustration in the world of energy efficiency upgrades. This problem is commonly referred to as split incentives (or landlord/tenant dilemma). At the heart of this issue is the question: Who pays for the work and who benefits from it? Read the article.

Sustainability Insights is a quarterly industry update from DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability's Sustainable Buildings and Communities team.

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