City of Alexandria Joins the U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge

For Immediate Release: November 13, 2019

On October 22, 2019, the Alexandria City Council approved the City of Alexandria to join the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge. The U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge is a national leadership initiative which aims to improve energy efficiency in buildings by 20 percent or more over 10 years. In so doing, the U.S. Department of Energy seeks to support a nationwide effort to reduce energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and support energy efficiency job creation. The Better Buildings Challenge promotes collaborative work across public and private sector organizations to share and replicate positive actions to improve energy efficiency in building portfolios.

By joining as a Partner, the City has made a public pledge to improve the energy intensity of its publicly-owned building portfolio by 25 percent over a fiscal year 2018 baseline by fiscal year 2027. This pledge is in alignment with the Environmental Action Plan 2040’s Energy Efficiency Target 2.2.4, which states, “by FY 2027, implement energy efficiency strategies in City facilities and operations to reduce energy use by, at minimum, 25 percent over FY 2018 usage.” This pledge is further supported by the Eco-City principles and implementation of the 2019 Green Building Policy's development standards and renovations directives.

By joining the Better Buildings Challenge as a Partner, the U.S. Department of Energy agrees to assist in providing the City technical assistance and energy efficiency implementation models to support the measurement, tracking, and improvement of the City’s energy performance; connect the City with other energy efficiency stakeholders and partners; and support and recognize the City’s successes in achieving energy efficiency milestones and achieving energy efficiency results, as well as recognize partners who leverage, develop, and share innovative and cost-effective energy efficiency implementation models. 

To learn more and track the City’s progress towards meeting our goal, please refer to the City of Alexandria’s Better Buildings Challenge Partner page.