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Guide: Best Practices for Achieving Zero Over Time for Building Portfolios

By Matt Jungclaus, Cara Carmichael, and Alisa Petersen

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Why It Matters

Existing commercial buildings consume 36% of all electricity in the United States and are responsible for more than $190 billion in energy every year. Today, existing buildings globally are only receiving energy retrofits at a rate of around 1% per year, while a rate of around 3.2% per year is required to avoid irreversible climate change and hit the two degree Celsius increase target by 2040 (as laid out at COP21). The ZOT approach helps portfolio owners and managers right-time deep energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy storage projects with life-cycle event triggers for investment.

About the Authors

Matt Jungclaus

Cara Carmichael

Alisa Petersen

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