Cities around the world are setting building performance standards (BPS) as a key measure to cut emissions and meet climate targets, according to a report from JLL.
In the U.S., 13 cities have a BPS in place and more than 30 additional cities plan to pass a BPS by no later than 2026. As of early 2024, these policies already cover about 25% of all buildings in the U.S.
BPS mandate specific building-level energy use and emissions reductions. The limits set by BPS become increasingly stringent over time and typically include sizable fines for non-compliance.
In January 2022, the U.S. launched the National BPS Coalition to help cities move from prescriptive to performance-based codes that require reductions in emissions and energy use, leaving it up to the owners to decide how to meet them. Many building owners will have to retrofit their properties to avoid a financial double whammy.
“Not only are non-compliant properties exposed to escalating fines, but they also face additional increasing risks associated with the fact that they are not low carbon properties,” says JLL’s Jaime del Alamo. “These assets could face indirect liquidity issues, for example, as they may prove more challenging to sell, leading to significant value erosion over time.”
Related Stories
| Jul 14, 2014
Meet the bamboo-tent hotel that can grow
Beijing-based design cooperative Penda designed a bamboo hotel that can easily expand vertically or horizontally.
| Jul 11, 2014
Are these LEGO-like blocks the future of construction?
Kite Bricks proposes a more efficient way of building with its newly developed Smart Bricks system.
| Jul 10, 2014
BioSkin 'vertical sprinkler' named top technical innovation in high-rise design
BioSkin, a system of water-filled ceramic pipes that cools the exterior surface of buildings and their surrounding micro-climates, has won the 2014 Tall Building Innovation Award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Jul 10, 2014
New tool aggregates LEED project info for over 150 countries
The U.S. Green Building Council announced the launch of an expanded online data visualization resource that will allow any user to access aggregated LEED green building project information in the more than 150 countries with LEED projects.
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.
| Jun 30, 2014
4 design concepts that remake the urban farmer's market
The American Institute of Architects held a competition to solve the farmer's markets' biggest design dilemma: lightweight, bland canopies that although convenient, does not protect much from the elements.
| Jun 30, 2014
OMA's The Interlace honored as one of the world's most 'community-friendly' high-rises
The 1,040-unit apartment complex in Singapore has won the inaugural Urban Habitat award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which highlights projects that demonstrate a positive contribution to the surrounding environment.
| Jun 19, 2014
First Look: 10 Design unveils new luxury apartments plan in Dubai
The Seventh Heaven complex features a stepped form that will offer stunning views of the Dubai skyline.
| Jun 19, 2014
Singapore's 'Tree House' vertical gardens break Guinness World Record
The high-rise development will have a 24,638-sf vertical garden, breaking a Guinness World Record.
| Jun 18, 2014
Largest Passive House structure in the U.S. to be built in Oregon
Orchards at Orenco, a 57-unit affordable housing complex in Hillsboro, Oregon, is the first of a three-phase, three-building complex.