Hub March 2025 Newsletter

April 1, 2025

Building Energy Resource Hub March 2025 Newsletter

A woman in a hard hat is looking at a clipboard in a factory.

Greetings -

Spring has arrived, and with it, a season of fresh resources! We’re excited to share the latest tools we’ve been working on to support your decarbonization journey—including a new online discussion forum, expanded technical assistance, a Decarb Planning Guide, real-world case studies, and stretch code guidance for both commercial and residential buildings. Looking to sharpen your skills? Join us for our upcoming education sessions, where we’ll explore emerging HVAC technologies and offer tips and tricks on energy benchmarking.

Got ideas for future programs or topics you’d like to see? We’d love to hear from you—drop us a line!

Katie, Kindy, Matt & Rimjhim
The Hub Team

Building Retrofit Expert Interview Series

Navigating Code Compliance and Grant Requirements for Nonprofit Retrofits

There’s a well-known adage in the green building community—that “the most sustainable building is the one that already exists.” It’s a sentiment that drives the work of Maria Bergh, Founder and Architect at We Build Agency and lead architect on the nonprofit Plant Chicago’s adaptive reuse of a 100-year-old-plus Chicago Firehouse into their new, sustainable headquarters and indoor urban farm. Maria recently sat down with us to discuss her experiences retrofitting older buildings in Chicago for nonprofit and small business clients, and provide lessons for other design and construction professionals.

Read the Q&A here

The Decarbonization Planning Guide is here!

The Building Energy Resource Hub has launched a new online planning tool to help guide building professionals through their decarbonization journey. This step-by-step resource walks users through key principles: knowing your building, setting goals, and implementing strategies. Designed for flexibility, it includes best practices, educational materials, and technical resources to support every stage of the process. Start using the guide today to plan how to reduce emissions, improve energy efficiency, and future-proof your building!

Explore the guide here

Join the Discussion Forum!

A welcome to the hub 's discussion forum page

We’re excited to introduce the Decarb Discussion Forum, an online community platform designed to support building professionals navigating the complexities of decarbonization. Moderated by staff with professional advice from volunteer industry experts, the forum provides a space to ask detailed, project-specific questions and receive reliable, peer-informed guidance. Whether you're looking for help interpreting policy, exploring technology options, or overcoming implementation hurdles, this is your space to connect, collaborate, and problem-solve with others in the field.

Join the Forum today

Check out the new Illinois Stretch Code Overview & Guides

Understanding code updates is essential to staying on track with building performance and decarbonization goals. We’re excited to share new resources that outline the key differences between the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), the 2024 IECC, and Illinois' Stretch Codes for both residential and commercial buildings. These guides highlight the most significant code changes and includes practical implementation tips to support project teams navigating compliance.

Read the Stretch Code Guides here

Want direct assistance on your decarb project?

Call the Hub Help Desk today!

The Hub Help Desk is ready for your questions and inquiries. The Help Desk provides free, comprehensive support for building professionals, including commercial and multi-family building owners, contractors, and municipal representatives. Call us at 855-520-7693 or email help@buildinghub.energy today! You can also fill out a Help Desk Form and our team will get back to you promptly.

Upcoming Hub Events

A poster for a webinar about innovative gas technologies and the role of utilities in a clean energy future

Innovative Gas Technologies and the Role of Utilities in a Clean Energy Future
April 2 @ 12:00 PM

As the energy sector moves toward a low-carbon future, both electric and gas utilities will play a critical role in ensuring safe, reliable, and affordable energy solutions. This virtual session will explore the latest advancements in gas efficiency, taking a deeper look at emerging and existing technologies that lower emissions and energy bills. Experts will discuss the potential of decarbonized fuels and innovative systems in achieving efficiency goals. Join us to learn how you can leverage these innovative technologies to lower energy costs in your next project—and which Peoples Gas incentives could help save you money up front.

A person is holding a light bulb in their hand.

Energy Benchmarking Tips and Tricks
April 23 @ 12:00 PM

This webinar will provide you with tips and tricks on how to use the free building benchmarking tool, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and help you understand how to create accurate building profiles, how to best gather and enter monthly energy, water, and/or waste data, and how to interpret your performance over time in the tool. All levels of knowledge and experience with benchmarking and energy management are welcome!

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Upcoming Partner Events

Passive House Certification, Energy Codes & Resilience

Hosted by SEDAC
April 15 @ 12:00 PM

This training will take a deeper look at Phius certification as one of the newest compliance paths available in Illinois. Our partners will discuss the five key concepts of the Passive House building standard and how these concepts result in high-performance buildings. The training will cover how the increased performance of this building standard uses the science behind the requirements of the code to substantially increase energy efficiency and overall resilience of a structure.

Phius 101: Foundation of Passive Building and Phius Standards
Hosted by Illinois Green Alliance and Phius
April 17 @ 12:00 PM

Join Illinois Green Alliance and Phius to learn how you can build comfortable, healthy, cost-efficient buildings for a more resilient world at Phius 101 for Architects and Engineers! In Illinois, Phius certification is an alternative compliance path to the base energy code, stretch energy code, and the Chicago Energy Transformation Code, and included in the point structure for the Illinois Qualified Allocation Plan and Chicago Sustainable Development Policy.

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How Architects Can Drive High-Performance Office Fit-Out Projects

March 10, 2025

Resource Overview Architects are essential players in designing, constructing, and operating high-performance spaces for tenants, the demand for which continues to rise. Half of all commercial buildings in the US are leased, and retrofitting existing buildings is a must for meeting our evolving climate and emissions targets. How can architects take advantage of this opportunity, and get involved in these projects? TEOP for Architects takes ULI’s established Tenant Energy Optimization Program (TEOP), a 10-step process for embedding energy efficiency into leased spaces during initial fit-outs or significant renovations, and shows how architects can plug in and use it to streamline their work. Drawing on interviews with architects and real estate professionals from firms leading in sustainability, TEOP for Architects is filled with practical advice and data points for addressing common barriers, whether it’s how to approach clients that are new to sustainability, how to integrate energy modeling into your practice, or how to ensure building operations help meet initial performance goals. TEOP for Architects shows that tenant spaces are just as ripe for design excellence and innovation in performance as new construction. Whether you’re an experienced architect just getting familiar with tenant fit-outs or you’re entirely new to the world of sustainability, TEOP for Architects can help you get situated and start delivering the efficient, elegant projects that clients and the climate both need.

Fitting Out Spaces for Net Zero

March 10, 2025

Resource Overview Fit-outs tend to attract less attention than the construction and operation of buildings, despite the fact that it has a significant impact on the operational performance of the occupied space. In addition, in nondomestic buildings, the interiors can be replaced every three to 10 years, making fit-outs a crucial part of a building’s life cycle. This tenant primer focuses on the importance of fit-outs.

Tenant Energy Optimization Program

March 7, 2025

Resource Overview The Tenant Energy Optimization Program Infographic provides stakeholders with an overview of ULI's TEOP program as well as an outline of the 10-step process which outlines steps you can take to integrate energy efficiency into tenant space, design, and construction.

Green Leasing as Part of a Sustainable Tenant Fit-Out

March 6, 2025

Resource Overview Building owners and tenants are often characterized by conflicting interests and split incentives, hindering joint efforts towards energy efficient buildings. However, both parties play a vital role in embedding sustainability into the built environment and ultimately have common ground that can be leveraged to achieve shared goals. The Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Tenant Energy Optimization Program (TEOP) and the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Green Lease Leaders program share complementary, actionable steps for landlord-tenant collaboration in advancing sustainability in leased spaces. Green Leasing as Part of a Sustainable Tenant Fit-out: Tenant Energy Optimization Program and Green Lease Leaders Program provides an overview of TEOP and Green Lease Leaders, highlighting how the two programs can work together to offer a robust roadmap for landlord-tenant energy efficiency achievements.

Green Lease Leaders

January 20, 2025

Resource Overview Launched in 2014 by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Alliance and the Institute for Market Transformation, Green Lease leaders sets the standard for what constitutes a green lease. The program provides guidance in leasing practices to advance mutually beneficial landlord-tenant relationships that lead to higher-performing buildings and healthier, more sustainable communities. Participants benefit from established guidelines and free support while developing their leases, as well as peer leadership recognition and substantial energy savings when leases have been implemented. Honorees are announced annually at the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Conference .

Energy Treasure Hunt

September 25, 2024

An Energy Treasure Hunt is a collaborative quest where your employees uncover opportunities to save energy.

Build for the Future Funding Navigator

September 13, 2024

The Build for the Future Funding Navigator provides a listing of funding opportunities across federal agencies to support efforts to enhance climate resiliency, energy efficiency, renewable energy integration, healthy housing, workforce development and environmental justice for HUD communities.