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Sustainable Pennsylvania

Sustainable Pennsylvania

Municipal Certification Project

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Home › Action Resources › Energy › Municipal Energy Use

FOCUS AREAS

Related Criteria

E10 Building Retuning: The municipality has trained building operators to fine-tune building operations to conserve energy (i.e., building retuning training) and has created guidelines for how to maintain operations.
A. The municipal staff in charge of building maintenance and operations have been to at least one course on building retuning in the last 5 years.
B. The municipality has a manual or set of guidelines for how to maintain building operations to conserve energy and improve comfort. (documentation required)
C. Municipal building operations for key buildings could currently meet the LEED O+M and/or LEED BD+C Standards for SIlver. (documentation required)
D. (documentation required) Municipal building operations for key buildings could currently meet the LEED O+M and/or LEED BD+C Standards for Gold. (documentation required)
E. Municipal building operations for key buildings could currently meet the LEED O+M and/or LEED BD+C Standards for Platinum. (documentation required)

E11 Green Building Policy: The municipality has a written green building policy/standard that new construction/major renovations of municipal buildings must meet the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) or incorporate LEED Silver/Gold/Platinum Principles, or Net Zero Energy.

Energy Efficiency Improvements

Description:

One of the most cost-effective energy efficiency improvement strategies a municipality can use is building retuning. Due to wear and tear, changes in use, or improper maintenance, buildings can become less efficient over time unless they are regularly monitored and maintained to maximize efficiency. The process of building retuning allows trained professionals to identify and address these inefficiencies through relatively low-cost maintenance actions and performance improvements.

Building retuning is a skill that can be learned through training on best practices, monitoring tools, and specialized equipment. Penn State’s Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) offers organizations and municipalities in-person and virtual technical assistance consulting, training, and other resources on a variety of topics, including building retuning.

Municipalities can strengthen their own construction standards by adopting a formal policy committing the government to certain standards of green construction on all new construction or major renovation projects it undertakes. While a number of green building standards exist for use by builders, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards are two widely used resources for improving environmental performance in the built environment of a community. The IgCC in particular provides a useful building code that can be adopted directly by municipalities to save the time and resources needed to create an environmentally responsible and impactful custom code.

Resources


Programs & Tools
U.S. Green Building Council | Green Building Codes
U.S. Green Building Council Referencing LEED as a tool to create green building criteria in policy, and increasingly being introduced into traditional building codes, addressing the cross-cutting categories of site selection, water conservation, energy efficiency, renewables, indoor environmental quality and resource conservation. Visit resource website

Financial Assistance/Incentives
EPA's Clean Energy Financing for Local Governments
Environmental Protection Agency EPA curated tools and guides to help local governments better understand the various financing strategies to support energy efficiency, renewable energy and other clean energy investments in their communities. Visit resource website
High Performance Building Program
Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development The High Performance Building Program (HPB) provides financial assistance in the forms of grants and loan funds to underwrite the cost premiums associated with the design and construction or major renovation of high performance buildings in the state. Visit resource website
Database of Federal Funding Programs for Decarbonization in Local Governments
RMI World Resources Institute Tool that helps local governments prioritize and leverage existing federal funding to advance system-wide energy transition goals—from block grants and technical assistance to competitive grants, loans, and revolving loan funds. Visit resource website
Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants
Department of Environmental Protection The Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant (AFIG) program has approximately $3 million in funding available to school districts, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and businesses in Pennsylvania that want to transition to cleaner fuel transportation. Visit resource website
Driving PA Forward
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Grant Opportunities and rebate programs working to improve air quality in Pennsylvania looking to drive transformation from older, high-polluting diesel engines to clean transportation technologies. Visit resource website

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About Sustainable Pennsylvania

Sustainable Pennsylvania, a joint project of the Pennsylvania Municipal League and Sustainable Pittsburgh, is a voluntary performance recognition program designed to help municipalities set and achieve sustainability goals, save money, conserve resources, and foster a vibrant community.

Pennsylvania Municipal League

The Pennsylvania Municipal League is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1900 as an advocate for Pennsylvania’s 3rd class cities. Today, The League represents participating Pennsylvania cities, boroughs, townships, home rule communities and towns that all share The League’s municipal policy interests.

The mission of the Pennsylvania Municipal League is to strengthen, empower and advocate for effective local government.

Sustainable Pittsburgh

Sustainable PGH is a nonprofit committed to building the knowledge, perspective, and ability needed to create a better tomorrow for our region.

Contact us

Email info@sustainablepa.org or call Leslie Rhoads from PML at 717-236-9469 *237 or Jim Price from Sustainable Pittsburgh at 412-259-5331

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