The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) recently released a collection of reports from Putting Data to Work, a DOE-funded three-year project that focuses on the value that building energy data brings to the energy-efficiency industry. It is designed as a toolkit to support cities that are working to better leverage energy data in decision-making processes. Nearly two dozen cities now have benchmarking programs that generate data on building energy performance, which is helping utilities, researchers, government officials, and efficiency program administrators and implementers gain deeper insights about the efficiency of their built environment. New York City and Washington, D.C., with guidance from IMT on Putting Data to Work, are leveraging this data to inform outreach and incentive programs that encourage building owners who stand to realize the greatest energy savings to invest in energy-efficiency improvements.

Specifically, the Putting Data to Work toolkit helps state and local governments, and their utilities, understand how to value and better leverage the data coming out of their energy-efficiency policies and programs. It provides guidance on how the evaluation should be conducted, a list of typical pitfalls the staff could expect to face, and a set of best practices they could adopt that have worked effectively elsewhere.

Let’s go deeper with energy data.

If you’d like to learn more about how other cities have used the Putting Data to Work toolkit’s actionable resources, tips, and tools to help them use energy data in meaningful and decisive ways, IMT is hosting a webinar series this July and August:

• Assessing the Impacts of Benchmarking and Transparency Policies in Cities
  July 24, 2018 (2-3 p.m. EST)
  Hear from researchers and practitioners from New York City, Washington D.C., and the Greenlink Group to learn about the quantifiable potential benefits of a citywide benchmarking program, the methods that city staff are using to assess the actual impacts of these policies, and some examples of how the data is being used to inform decision-making and drive change.
  Register today
• How Cities' Building Performance Policies Create Energy Efficiency Data Utilities Can Use
  August 8, 2018 (2-3 p.m. EST)
  Gain an understanding of key applications for using benchmarking and building performance data to promote energy efficiency, such as improving your outreach to building owners and enhancing energy-efficiency programs based on increased knowledge of end uses and trends.
  Register today