Buildings are responsible for one-third of global energy demand and one-quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. This presents a major opportunity to promote sustainable energy use: global building energy demand could be reduced by one-third by 2050 if current energy efficiency best practices are implemented on a larger scale. However, institutional and behavioral roadblocks are holding the sector back.

The Building Efficiency Accelerator (BEA) aims to break down these barriers by increasing global and cross-sector collaboration. This public-private collaboration turns global expertise into action to accelerate local government implementation of building efficiency policies and programs. WRI’s Buildings Initiative, part of WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities and the Energy Program, leads the Building Efficiency Accelerator in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

The BEA process of engagement includes guidance and technical advice at the city level to:

  • Assess and prioritize locally appropriate building efficiency policies and actions.
  • Implement those actions and policies, matching city needs with available expertise, technical resources and tools.
  • Track action and document progress, and share lessons learned.
  • Increase ambition for improving the overall efficiency of the building stock.

The BEA engages with cities based on the needs of the city and the activities that the partnership can provide in each location. Cities prioritize different policies and activities, per their needs and capacities, and the partnership connects them to technical resources and engagement opportunities from the network.

Building on the experiences of the BEA, WRI and partners are responding to calls for building sector decarbonization with the Zero Carbon Building Accelerator, which supports national and subnational governments in aligning their decarbonization efforts through coordinated roadmaps and action plans. The Zero Carbon Building Accelerator provides a pipeline of tools, best practices and financial solutions to the BEA network.  

Banner image by Storkholm Photography/Flickr