Follow the Path

At the heart of its sustainability strategy is the Unisphere, a 135,000-square-foot building in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. The Unisphere is the world’s largest commercial net-zero energy building, demonstrating how U.S. regulators must shape governance for the building stock of the future.

Overseas regulators have laid out a path for domestic lawmakers

To understand how buildings like the Unisphere a proverbial lighthouse for net-zero-pursuing regulators can be, one need look no further than action taken across Europe over the last few years. In March, the European Parliament voted in favor of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) to help obtain a 55 percent reduction in EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, a target codified by the European Climate Law of 2021. The EPBD establishes minimum energy performance standards such that all new buildings in the EU as of 2030 will be zero emission (2027 for public buildings).

Recently, the U.K. began following its Powering up Britain net-zero strategy in earnest. The plan aims to deliver energy security by reducing reliance on foreign energy suppliers and ensuring Britain has the cheapest wholesale energy prices in Europe by 2035. The plan will achieve its net-zero goals in part by reducing overall energy demand. As buildings account for more than one-third of the world’s final energy consumption and energy-related CO2 emissions, the building industry will play a central role in powering up a net-zero world.

Powering up Britain includes investments in residential loft and cavity insulation improvements, industrial process enhancement, lower-carbon heating and boiler upgrades. The plan dovetails neatly with various regulations and orders that both the U.K. and EU Parliaments have issued of late, ensuring governance for net-zero initiatives.

In the U.K., the Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) also recently established an Energy Efficiency Taskforce. The taskforce is sponsored by the DESNZ Director General for Net Zero Buildings and Industry, a clear indication that building stock will be a focal point of the taskforce’s activities.

U.S. lawmakers must urge the building industry to accelerate efforts to decarbonize

In the U.S., regulators can learn from the efforts of EU and British Parliaments, as well as the Unisphere on its own soil, as it pursues domestic and international carbon emissions- and GHG-reduction goals. Centering governance on the concepts of carbon transparency and reporting and achieving reductions can help lawmakers urge the U.S. building industry in the appropriate direction.

The EPBD mandates that each EU member state establish a “long-term renovation strategy to support the renovation of the national stock of residential and non-residential buildings … into a highly energy efficient and [decarbonized] building stock by 2050.” Though these sections of the directive focus on renovating existing building stock, Unisphere’s design exemplifies the idea of strategic planning that achieves policy aims through measurable results.

Unisphere’s design and build team determined that the building would pursue net-zero emissions primarily by generating the operationally necessary energy on site. To that end, the building was planned to comprise more than 3,000 photovoltaic solar panels to produce more than one megawatt of power. Geothermal wells cycle hot and cold water, and underground airstreams make heating and cooling systems more efficient. Daylight harvesting, natural ventilation, thermal pools and an electrochromic envelope help the building achieve a 25 percent thermal improvement over minimum code values.

If regulators want more Unispheres they must include in regulations, as U.K. and EU Parliaments have, the requirement for building owners to thoughtfully make progress toward net-zero aims, whether in new building stock or in renovating existing stock. As half of all building stock will still be in use in 2050, incentivizing renovations will be of utmost importance for any building-industry mandates.

To meet strategically agreed-upon performance metrics, building owners must have ways to closely monitor, measure and analyze progress toward sustainability goals. EU lawmakers included minimum energy performance requirements in their sweeping bill. The recently approved amendments also stipulate that member states, where possible, must develop requirements that ensure “non-residential buildings with an effective rated output for heating systems or systems for combined space heating and ventilation of over 290 kW are equipped with building automation and control systems by 31 December 2024.”

Digitizing the Unisphere in a similar manner required a robust IT network to manage the building’s operational systems. A centralized building automation system helps monitor power usage, changes building settings based on pre-specified rules and connects building data to help facility managers make faster, more intelligent decisions. Every single smart connection in the leading-edge building feeds back to this single source of truth, which also enables management to explore the building’s energy systems, create predictive models, and drive sustainable change and awareness with occupants.

Domestic regulators can learn from the approach of both European Parliament and Unisphere designers and carve out stipulations about digitizing building stock toward sustainable ends.

U.K. Parliament has taken pains to accelerate decarbonization initiatives. A proposed amendment to a 2008 climate law would move up all proposed decarbonization timelines from 2050 to 2040. In the race for decarbonization, the Unisphere stands as a monument ahead of its time.

From the shape of the building to the balance between rooftop equipment and solar arrays, the Unisphere is an homage to today’s pressing needs. In certain modes, the enormous building consumes the same amount of energy as the average American home. The approach artfully blends a simple three-step path: strategize, digitize and decarbonize into a functional facility that will continue to support net-zero goals for years to come.

In considering the decarbonization aspect of governance, American regulators must give great thought to how laws enacted today might encourage the net-zero efforts of tomorrow. The good news is many regional regulations and some recent nationwide policies offer a framework for future federal buildings regulations.

New York City’s Local Law 97, Boston’s BERDO and California’s Title 24 urge the building industry to make headway in reaching decarbonization acceleration mandates from the current administration.

Foreign laws exemplify decarbonization, but domestic feats can serve as inspiration

In the U.K. and Europe, governing bodies have placed buildings squarely in the spotlight of climate change-combating laws. But U.S. lawmakers need only gaze out a north-facing window to be reminded of what thoughtful building governance can achieve. The Unisphere is a testament to the types of considerations legislation-crafting individuals might give to decarbonizing an emissions-heavy industry. It is a sign that the future of building construction is already within reach and the required inspiration, right under their noses.