Policy Development & Implementation

IMT advises state and local governments on the design and implementation of building performance policies, including in the following areas:

• Adoption
• Implementation Planning
• Resource Deployment
• Stakeholder and media engagement
• Policy coordination

We often work in partnership with regional and national energy efficiency organizations, foundations, industry associations, and the real estate and utility sectors. We also work extensively with federal agencies to help secure resources and other support for policy work at the local level.

On the national level, IMT produces widely read policy analyses and reports. In 2011, we collaborated with leading jurisdictions to develop the nation’s first framework for the implementation of local rating and disclosure policies (see below). In May 2012, with the U.S. Department of Energy's State and Local Energy Efficiency Action Network (SEE Action), we released a policy design guide and sample policy language for commercial-building energy benchmarking and disclosure. We continue to direct leading-edge research into the economic benefits and job creation impacts of building performance policy.

Shown above: Laurie Kerr, former Senior Policy Advisor in the New York City Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, speaks at a policy roundtable that IMT hosted in November 2010.

IMT Report | Building Energy Transparency

The most comprehensive review to date of commercial building energy rating and disclosure policies in the United States, Building Energy Transparency (July 2011) creates the first blueprint that policymakers can use to identify challenges and apply best practices piloted by leading jurisdictions: Austin, Texas; California; the District of Columbia; Massachusetts; New York City; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; Seattle, Washington; and Washington state.