ANSI Members Join U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge to Reduce Energy Usage

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that nineteen organizations, including five American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Federation members, have recently joined the DOE's Better Buildings Challenge. To date, more than 150 organizations have participated in the program, including manufacturers, building owners, local government, and utilities, in total overseeing more than three billion square feet of commercial and industrial real estate nationwide.

Participants agree to cut their energy usage by 20% over a period of 10 years, complete at least one showcase energy efficiency project, and share data on energy performance within their portfolio of buildings and information on their implementation models for energy efficiency. In return, they receive technical assistance and guidance on energy efficiency approaches to help them meet their goals.

The nineteen new Better Building Challenge partners are the first organizations involved in the initiative to focus on energy efficiency in connection with their operation of data centers. All the new members oversee data centers currently consuming more than 90 megawatts of power and have agreed to make use of increased energy efficiency to reduce their energy use by 20%.

The ANSI members announcing their participation in this initiative are:

• The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) through its Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA)
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
• Schneider Electric
• The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

In addition, ANSI member the DOE funds new Better Buildings Challenge participants the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Argonne National Laboratory, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Environmental Molecular Science Laboratory (EMSL).

To learn more about the Better Buildings Challenge, visit its official website.