Four years ago, Denver launched a community-driven effort to address pollution from the city’s largest buildings. Commercial, industrial, multifamily and single-family buildings are responsible for a staggering 49% of Denver’s carbon emissions and a large portion of smog-forming emissions. The status quo is no longer an option.
As members of the Task Force that designed the Energize Denver building performance standards, we are proud to champion these innovative policies that balance environmental challenges and economic realities. These policies passed the City Council unanimously with virtually no public opposition.
However, we are disheartened to see real estate and landlord groups – including some who sat alongside us to craft the policies – join a lawsuit to scrap them. Additionally, out-of-state fossil fuel interests and commercial associations filed a second lawsuit to overturn more of the Energize Denver green building policies. These efforts, if successful, will let landlords and outside interests deprive Denverites of cleaner air, better health, and more affordable living while jeopardizing a similar statewide standard.
The stakes have never been higher. Building-related pollution costs Coloradans $2 billion annually in health impacts. We are sweltering in extreme heat, living in constant danger from elevated wildfire risk, and struggling to pay utility bills that are sky-high due to old, outdated appliances. The Front Range is in “severe” violation of bare-minimum national air quality standards, with overburdened communities suffering the most. Black Coloradans, for instance, face 56% more pollution from residential gas appliances than the state average.
Rather than sticking our heads in the sand, the Denver community chose to tackle these challenges bravely and boldly. Our Task Force included diverse perspectives from commercial real estate, building owners, affordable housing, utilities, the oil and gas industry, building energy experts, climate policy experts, and racial justice advocates. Reaching unanimous agreement wasn’t easy, but we recognized that all Denverites would benefit from healthier, less-polluting buildings.
The Energize Denver ordinance was designed with flexibility in every step, since every building has unique construction, needs, amenities, and budgets. Contrary to misinformation in the lawsuits, the ordinance doesn’t require building owners to replace functional heating or hot water systems. Instead, it sets overall targets for different building types and allows property owners to choose the best energy efficiency and renewable energy options to meet those targets. Smaller buildings have simplified compliance options. We even included allowances for buildings to get extensions or easier targets when necessary.
To help address cost concerns, we arranged for financial incentives, technical assistance, and innovative finance options that allow building owners to make upgrades with no upfront cost. Federal, state, local, and utility incentives can also defray costs – in fact, Colorado recently won a $129 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to directly fund energy efficiency improvements in commercial and multifamily buildings.
The policies may not be perfect, but they are worth keeping and improving. Denver and the state are actively taking steps to address legitimate concerns from building owners who want to do the right thing, including holding stakeholder sessions to consider additional flexibility and better align the state and local policies.
As the original architects of this policy, we’re proud of the balance we struck between ambition and practicality. Energize Denver is already delivering on its promises, and forward-thinking building owners are stepping up to do their part. Defending these common-sense standards against these lawsuits is a battle worth fighting.
Christine Brinker is the senior buildings policy manager for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project where she designs and improves state and local policies leading to a more sustainable built environment. Jon Buerge is the president of Urban Villages, Inc., a community-oriented real estate developer dedicated to imagining, building, and activating vibrant neighborhoods while emphasizing quality, sustainability, and value creation.
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