DOE Announces Better Buildings Initiative Progress Report, Highlights Nearly $22 Billion in Energy Savings

New Report Recognizes Public and Private Sector Organizations Working with DOE to Demonstrate Proven Pathways to Combat the Climate Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today published the"2024 Better Buildings Initiative Progress Report," which highlights the achievements of DOE's Better Buildings public and private sector partners as they decarbonize and increase the energy efficiency of the nation's buildings, manufacturing plants, and homes. The report shows that program partners-including 28 Fortune 100 companies and more than 90 state and local governments-have collectively saved nearly $22 billion through efficiency improvements and cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions by more than 220 million metric tons since 2011, an amount roughly equivalent to combined annual emissions of 29 million homes. Through the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE is helping accelerate cost-effective decarbonization solutions across America's commercial, industrial, and residential sectors-supporting the Biden-Harris Administration's whole-of-government approach to lowering energy costs for American families and businesses while tackling the climate crisis.

"DOE's Better Buildings Initiative is helping organizations of all sizes from every corner of the country and every sector of the economy lower energy costs and save money-to the tune of $22 billion," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. "Under President Biden and Vice President Harris' leadership, DOE will continue building the strong public-private sector partnerships we need to tackle the climate crisis and secure our clean energy future."

Through the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE partners with public and private sector stakeholders to pursue ambitious portfolio-wide energy, waste, water, and/or emissions reduction goals. Program partners publicly share their solutions, enabling other organizations to replicate their success. By improving building design, materials, equipment, and operations, decarbonization progress can be achieved across broad segments of the nation's economy.

Highlights from the 2024 report include:

• Partners leading the way: More than 25 organizations reached their Better Buildings, Better Plants, or Better Climate Challenge goals in the past year while sharing their successful pathways for others to follow. Goal Achievers include Kohl's Inc., Trane Technologies, The Chemours Company, Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Nestlé USA, California State University, Channel Islands, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (Maryland), the City of West Palm Beach, Florida. See the full Goal Achiever list here.
• New solutions and pathways: More than 180 new successful solutions and examples have been shared in the past year. DOE is also finding new ways to showcase partner pathways including those of Goal Achievers, such as Cleveland-Cliffs and RXR Realty, so others can learn from their leading work.
• Accelerating commercial decarbonization: Through the Better Buildings Commercial Building Heat Pump Accelerator, announced earlier this year, DOE is working with leading manufacturers to produce higher efficiency and life cycle cost-effective heat pump rooftop units. Commercial sector partners will evaluate and adopt the next-generation technology, which could hit the market as soon as 2027. If deployed at scale, the technology could save American businesses and commercial entities $5 billion on utility bills every year.
• Removing barriers to decarbonization: Developed in partnership with more than 60 organizations across multiple sectors, DOE launched the Framework for GHG Emissions Reduction Planning to help organizations develop actionable plans for portfolio-wide decarbonization. Dozens of organizations are now using this tool and working with DOE to plan energy efficiency, electrification, and renewables projects across their portfolios.
• Reducing financing barriers: Financial Allies have extended more than $37 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects since the start of the program, enabling organizations to jumpstart their decarbonization and energy efficiency progress.
• Innovation through collaboration: Through Better Climate Challenge working groups DOE convenes partners to share insights, barriers, strategies, and action plans while offering support from technical experts at DOE and its National Labs. Recently completed working groups discussed GHG emission reduction audits and assessments, onsite renewables, and low-emission alternatives to industrial thermal loads. Registration is open now for working groups focusing on low-impact refrigerants, financial analysis for industrial decarbonization, and central plant decarbonization.
• Highlighting partner success: DOE visited another city as part of the Better Climate Challenge Road Show. This video series highlights partners as they work to reduce emissions. Cleveland, Ohio-area partners were featured including Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland-Cliffs, and the City of Cleveland.
• Sharing information: More than 9,500 attendees joined a Better Buildings Webinar and more than 550,000 people explored resources on the Better Buildings Solution Center in the past year.

For more information, read the full 2024 Better Buildings Initiative Progress Report. To learn more about DOE's Better Buildings Initiative, visit the Better Buildings Solution Center.

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