NBI Staff--December 23, 2009
As the calender switches from 2009 to 2010 the attention being given to energy codes is seeming to intensify. A recent post titled "4 Green Building Trends to Watch in 2010" by the popular green innovation blog earth2tech (http://earth2tech.com/) identified energy codes that result in greater energy efficiency as something worth watching in the new year. We could not agree more.

Read the post: http://earth2tech.com/2009/12/23/4-green-building-trends-to-watch-in-2010/

Cathy Turner--December, 18, 2009
In collaboration with the California Institute for Energy and the Environment (CIEE), NBI recently completed measured performance case studies for two buildings on the University of California campus at Merced (UCM).

NBI Staff--November 20, 2009
Last week, CB Richard Ellis and the University of San Diego presented "Do Green Buildings Make Dollars and Sense?" at the annual USGBC GreenBuild conference in Phoenix, AZ. The study compared 154 Energy Star labeled buildings in 10 selected markets to general office properties in the market. All of the buildings in the survey set were managed by CBRE.
The study has some interesting findings which relates directly to a number of projects NBI is currently working on.

NBI Staff--November 11, 2009
Due to our continued work in the field of measured performance, NBI is encouraged to see other organizations conducting significant research in this realm. Contributing perspectives such as this one, not only broadens the conversation, but also serves to reinforce the importance of this work.

This report incorporates in one study several aspects not combined in previously published work, including where possible:
- Quantitative green house gas emissions and water use metrics, in addition to energy use.
- Qualitative health and productivity information

NBI Staff--November 2, 2009

Stacey Hobart--October 23, 2009
The energy efficiency field is comprised of many groups and organizations conducting and publishing important work. Occasionally NBI comes across a report that not only helps to inform our efforts but which we consider critical to the advancement of energy efficiency measures.

Dave Hewitt--October 9, 2009
In what can only be considered encouraging news, Massachusetts continues its aggressive pursuit of zero net energy buildings. This year, the state adopted a new “stretch code” (http://www.newbuildings.org/downloads/press/MAAdoptsStretchCode.pdf) and the governor-appointed Zero Net Energy Buildings Task Force released its comprehensive report, Getting to Zero.

Dave Hewitt--October 5, 2009
Long the turf of behind-the-scenes bureaucrats, energy building codes are now playing a key role in the fight against climate change. Every three years, a group called the International Code Council (ICC) updates building energy codes and releases its “model” code to the world. Model codes are either adopted wholesale by states and local jurisdictions, or used as guidelines in the development of local codes.