ShareThisGreenbuild 2010: EPS Goes TED
We were fortunate enough to be selected by USGBC to take part in a special initiative for select sessions at GreenBuild this year. This is part of USGBC’s efforts to keep the conference fresh and exciting for attendees. Our session on the Energy Performance Score (EPS), a Market Catalyst, was selected by the Special Programs Working Group to take place in a new interactive and multimedia environment in order to better engage the audience in our presentation.
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The project was not without peril. Our PowerPoint, which included man-on-the-street video interviews, was projected on a suspended cube hanging above a runway catwalk of sorts. The audience completely encircled the runway so that we had to walk, turn to all directions, pass off the single remote control, and talk at the same time, all without falling off (luckily the platform was only 16 inches high). Thanks to the USGBC providing rehearsal time, we were able to traverse the runway and engage the attendees in a fairly unusual format, while remaining safe. We opted not to take advantage of instant smartphone polling capability as we had enough to keep track of already.
We opened with the from-the-street perceptions on energy use, carbon emissions, and energy metrics, which were eye-opening and sometimes amusing in themselves. This led to the topics that panel members discussed. Kendall Youngblood of Energy Trust of Oregon offered new homes program experience in using the EPS as an incentive metric to encourage builders to seek EPS labeling for their better-than-code homes. Kristin Staver of Realty Trust Group weighed in on many of the perceived barriers to energy labeling and disclosure sometimes proffered by the real estate community. She allayed those barriers, and in fact turned them into positive positioning opportunities for savvy real estate agents. Stephan Aiguier of Green Hammer shared his real world experiences of high performance homes and how the EPS offers tremendous marketing potential and credentials for a home built with superior energy performance.
As moderator, I pointed out the barriers to home upgrades, the need for a carbon metric, the background to the EPS, and addressed DOE's recently released Home Energy Score (HES) statistical asset rating. I let the audience know of the exciting work we are undertaking in Seattle and Bellingham with our existing homes EPS pilot, and the US DOE funded work in WA, MA, AL, and VA that will include the deployment of the EPS.
After our presentation, the sustainability leader for an international real estate holdings company thrust his card in my hand and said, "We need to talk about using the EPS for our rental portfolio." This was followed by another card from the director of smarter buildings and global business services at a multinational technology firm who wanted to follow up next week on the EPS.
The Greenbuild conference was able to provide us some significant visibility for the EPS, and we look forward to the momentum generated there and through the DOE’s new initiatives in energy labeling.
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