Wednesday, August 28, 2024 | View in browser
Evanston is Awarded $10.7 Million to Advance the Healthy Buildings Initiative
EVANSTON, IL - The City of Evanston is excited to announce its selection as one of 19 communities to receive the Inflation Reduction Act Support for Building Energy Codes and Innovative Codes grant. This $10.7 million award, subject to negotiation with the U.S. Department of Energy, will support the adoption and implementation of building performance standards that will reduce building emissions. The initiative will also prioritize equitable decision-making, ongoing affordability, workforce development opportunities, and energy cost savings.
The building performance standards legislation, or “Healthy Buildings Ordinance,” builds upon the existing requirement that the City’s largest buildings disclose their annual energy usage through the 2016 Benchmarking Ordinance. Just under half of the community-wide greenhouse gas emissions in Evanston come from the 500 largest buildings. The proposed legislation would require these buildings to phase out onsite fossil fuel combustion and become more energy efficient by 2050 while supporting renewable electricity sourcing.
“This exciting announcement is both an endorsement of our cutting-edge sustainability work and a game-changing tool to propel those efforts forward. This financial support is just what we need to make good on our commitment to effectively and equitably design and implement our Healthy Buildings Ordinance,” said Mayor Daniel Biss. “I am grateful to our Sustainability and Resilience team, the US Department of Energy, and the Biden-Harris administration for making this possible.”
In January 2022, Mayor Daniel Biss announced the City of Evanston’s commitment to inclusively design and implement building performance standards and complementary policies and programs. Since then, staff have participated in the National Building Performance Standards Coalition and held community engagement meetings through the Building Electrification Working Group, a subcommittee of the Environment Board.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced the initial recipients of this grant on August 27, 2024. Selected state and local governments will receive more than $240 million in federal funding to facilitate the adoption and implementation of the most recent energy-efficient or innovative building codes.
This initiative helps entities to decarbonize their buildings by embracing the latest national model building energy codes, zero energy codes, or other codes that provide equal or greater energy conservation. This encompasses innovative approaches to decarbonize existing buildings through the implementation of specific measurable and enforceable requirements.
Using innovative building codes, like building performance standards, can reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions for commercial and multi-family buildings. This aligns with the City’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) goals. In late 2018, the Evanston City Council approved the Climate Action and Resilience Plan, which calls for carbon neutrality by 2050, zero waste by 2050, and 100% renewable electricity by 2030, among other goals.
CARP identifies critical actions that need to be taken in order for Evanston to play its part in avoiding cataclysmic climate change, as well as identifying key strategies to ensure Evanston is building resilience to climate hazards.
Stay informed about the Healthy Buildings Ordinance by:
For more information, please call/text 847-448-4311. For convenience, residents may simply dial 3-1-1 in Evanston.
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Media Contact: Cynthia Vargas
cvargas@cityofevanston.org
Phone: 847-448-8234
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