Decarbonization Planning Guide

After you finish implementation, document progress and compare the actual outcomes to your measurable goals. Evaluation should start you on the decarbonization plan cycle again, as you continue to get to know your building and update your decarbonization plan.

Key considerations to Evaluation 

• Measurement and Verification 
• Execute your M&V plan if there is prolonged benchmarking to determine energy performance. See Section: Establish verification plan.
• Continue to benchmark your key metrics identified in your decarbonization plan. See Section: Energy and GHG emissions benchmarking.
• If the emission targets and outcomes are not being met, identify why and potential remediations with the team. 
• Check in with occupants, residents, or tenants to see if there’s been improvement or areas that need remediation. 
• Be sure to document avoided costs and outcomes if you were to continue your business-as-usual case. Show improvements and identify if you’re not meeting outcomes as intended. 
• Identify if non-emission outcomes are being met. Are rooms comfortable year-round in the area you installed a new heat pump? Is there less carbon dioxide in the space where you installed a new ventilation system? If the desired outcomes are not being met, identify why that might be the case. 
• Document lessons learned for future implementation projects. 
• Ensure systems are being properly maintained and operated after completion of the project. Use systems like building automation systems to ensure all equipment is operating as intended. 
• “No plan survives first contact with [actual implementation].” 
• Update the decarbonization and capital plans and adjust based on implementation evaluations and lessons learned.   
• Adjust your plan for unexpected events. If your boiler fails earlier than you expected from its service life, you may opt to accelerate heat pump replacement. 
• Report progress update to stakeholders. Make sure to celebrate wins and market wins to broader stakeholders, customers, etc. 

Links to Resources

• Building Innovation Hub, Step 6. Selecting the Right Vendor. 
• RMI Retrofit Depot: Managing Deep Energy Retrofits. 
• Building Commissioning Costs and Savings Across Three Decades and 1,500 North American Buildings study by the Lawrence Berkley Lab. 
• ASHRAE Building Decarbonization Retrofits for Multifamily Buildings 

Potential certifications which could support evaluation:

• DOE ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction Certification 
• Enterprise Green Communities 
• Passive House Institute US (Phius) 
• USGBC LEED Rating Systems 
• Living Building Challenge