One of the key market barriers to energy efficiency investments in homes and business is a widespread lack of knowledge about how inefficient buildings currently are and what could be done to improve their efficiency.  Such information could be particularly valuable at the time buildings are being sold or rented.  If the buyer or renter does not know how efficient the building is, inefficiency – and related high energy and other costs – cannot be adequately factored into the buying or renting decision.  To address this barrier, a number of jurisdictions in Europe, Australia and – more recently – the United States have adopted policies requiring that building owners hire independent efficiency experts to assess and label the efficiency of their buildings and disclose such information to prospective buyers and/or renters.  This webinar was designed to inform regulators, advocates and others on the role such policies could play in advancing efficiency investments.  Key topics addressed included:

• The key elements of labeling and disclosure requirements;
• Where such policies are currently in effect;
• What has been learned to date regarding their impact on the market;
• Issues around the politics of adoption;
• How they might evolve in the future; and
• The role they could potentially play as part of an integrated approach to promoting efficiency in existing buildings (e.g. helping to drive demand for utility rate-payer funded efficiency programs).

The webinar addressed both residential and commercial markets.

Moderator: Chris Neme, Energy Futures Group

Presenters: Andrew Burr, Institute for Market Transformation and Richard Faesy, Energy Futures Group