Building electrification and climate risk mitigation go mainstream.
By RIC COCHRANE
Cochrane
Mandatory building energy performance is now Washington state law, and many building owners may be surprised by the stringency of compliance requirements. Perhaps most surprising to many in the real estate industry, however, is that Washington’s first-in-the-nation law is really not so innovative when compared with changes driven by the private sector. Specifically, global capital markets are now factoring climate-change risk mitigation into investment criteria, affecting every phase of the building lifecycle and every aspect of the building industry.
LEADING THE WAY
The Washington Clean Buildings Act (CBA) was signed into law during the 2019 legislative session, establishing mandatory energy performance targets for all non-residential buildings larger than 50,000 square feet. HB 1257 authorizes the Department of Commerce to develop energy use intensity (EUI) targets set at 15% less than the Washington state average for each building use type (mixed-use buildings are required to provide aggregated EUI).