The William J. Clinton Foundation announced the Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit May 16 at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in New York City. Financed by worldwide banks and backed by four well-known climate control manufacturers, Clinton’s project hopes to cut carbon emissions, reduce energy use and save money on utilities in existing city-owned buildings in 16 cities around the world.
The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) will provide technical assistance to the energy-saving renovation campaign, which is a project of the Clinton Climate Initiative organized by former President Bill Clinton.
“MCAA views our work with the program as a great opportunity to show the world what mechanical contractors can do to help solve one of the most pressing issues of our time,” said MCAA President David J. Kruse.
Many of the responsibilities that the MCAA and ASHRAE will offer are still being considered, but both associations will likely offer design expertise and training programs to do the needed work.
The program brings together Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Siemens, and Trane, which will each compete to conduct energy audits of city-owned and private buildings. The companies will also guarantee the energy savings that will come from the retrofit projects that they manage.
In North America, the initial cities will be Chicago, Houston, New York City, Toronto, and Mexico City. Other cities around the world are Bangkok, Berlin, Delhi, Johannesburg, Karachi, London, Melbourne, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Seoul, and Tokyo.
The cities will put up their own buildings for retrofit in order to streamline permit requirements and provide incentives for private building owners to do the same.
Clinton’s foundation said much of retrofit work has the potential to reduce energy use by as much as 50%.
“ASHRAE is in the best position to provide immediate support to the cities seeking guidance through the Clinton Climate Initiative due to our 30-year involvement in design guidance for energy conservation for both new and existing buildings,” said ASHRAE President Terry Townsend.
