Clean energy on the home front

Cities and towns can take energy efficiency further

The fight against global warming begins at home—literally.

Homes, businesses, offices and other buildings account for 54 percent of the energy used in Massachusetts, and over 90 percent of that energy comes from dirty and dangerous sources of power that increase our state’s global warming pollution—not to mention our energy bills.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution: making our buildings more energy efficient. According to the Alliance to Save Energy, increasing the efficiency of homes through simple retrofits and upgrades can reduce our state’s global warming pollution, and save consumers 30 percent of their energy bill or more.

And now, thanks to Environment Massachusetts’ efforts to promote energy efficiency solutions, your town could be next in line for an efficiency upgrade.

Change within reach

This summer, Environment Massachusetts helped establish an energy “stretch code,” which allows cities and towns to pass stricter building efficiency standards.

Newton was the first town to adopt the stretch code, and we will work with other communities to do the same in the coming year.

We have the tools right now to make our buildings more energy efficient. Home weatherization is one of the quickest, cheapest ways to cut emissions, reduce our utility bills, and decrease our reliance on fossil fuels. Unfortunately, some commercial developers are pushing hard against better building codes because they want to sell cheaply constructed buildings as quickly as possible. But when you buy or rent a building, you’re not just paying the sticker price—you also have to pay the energy bills every month. With heating oil and natural gas prices rising in winter, energy efficiency is more important than ever.

Green buildings, green communities

Our efforts on green buildings are part of the statewide implementation of the Green Communities Act, which Environment Massachusetts helped to pass in 2008. Cities and towns now have the chance to receive state financial support for taking measures to make themselves more energy efficient and starting to generate renewable energy in the municipality.