The 15th Annual Midwest Building Energy Codes Conference brought together city leaders, policy advocates and professionals from the real estate and construction industries to Cincinnati, Ohio. Attendees from across the country discussed ways that strong building codes and policies help cities and states meet clean energy goals and enhance energy efficiency in buildings.
The activities began a day early with a pre-conference training and a site visit to a historic net-zero renovation. Attendees from seven states (IL, MA, MI, MN, MO, OH and TN) came in early to participate in a four-hour comprehensive training led by Matt Belcher (Verdatek) on the 2021 and 2024 International Energy Conservation Codes. Completing the course provided field-required certifications for various roles across government and private sectors. The group discussed changes to past iterations of the energy code and required changes and situations if municipalities elect either set of codes. Participants with experience implementing aspects of updated code requirements in different climate zones, such as upgraded insulation, windows, building seal or HVAC systems, shared their own tips and how they saw outcomes unfold.
Across town in Lockland, Pepper Construction of Ohio hosted a building tour of their Stearns & Foster renovation, which holds a LEED Gold Certification - a unique accomplishment for a historically preserved building. Pepper Construction representatives explained energy efficiency benefits for green workplaces including improved indoor air quality, acoustics and smarter lighting for improved occupant safety, comfort and control. Pepper Construction now uses the building as its headquarters and experiences these benefits firsthand.
On Wednesday the official conference kicked off with an introduction from MEEA staff and Sustainability Manager for the City of Cincinnati, Molly Robertshaw. Molly opened the day by talking about the City’s Sustainability Plan and the importance of decarbonizing buildings. Then conference attendees participated in the Midwest Roundup, receiving updates on the specific code and building policy advances and challenges of each state in the Midwest.
The conference sessions were a mix of panels and discussions, and covered topics on new construction and existing buildings, compliance challenges and tools, innovation and technologies, and policy advancement. Panels addressed cross-sector partnerships, communications and messaging recommendations for improving energy efficiency codes, how to access tools and implementation resources to comply with updated codes and how to uplift local communities in discussions about decisions that impact them directly.
The conference provided strategies for attendees to communicate topics in a more approachable manner. Eric Fowler of Fresh Energy shared that from 2016 to 2020 Minnesota cities were pushing for stricter building codes, driven by their desire for climate-forward policies that could transform new construction across the state. This collective effort, supported by key champions from state legislature, has already led to significant progress, including the integration of net-zero standards into the commercial code. Pamela Brookstein from the National Association of REALTORS® talked about the importance of engaging with real estate professionals to convey the value of energy efficiency.
Speakers Carl Nelson from Center for Energy and Environment, Dave Phillips from Duke Energy and Amanda Webb from University of Cincinnati covered their experiences forming and implementing methods to ensure commercial buildings are as energy efficient as possible. The panelists discussed the ways policies were formed and how BPS can transform existing building stock.
Other panels focused specifically on needs in the codes and construction industry. Attendees learned that in onsite construction occupations, 3.3% are women and 6% are Black. In comparison, across all industries, women account for 46.8% of workers and Black people account for 12.6% of workers. A big takeaway from the “Who Is Missing from the Buildings Workforce?” session was that while the top two sectors of green jobs are construction and professional and business services, data is showing fewer people going into those fields.
Beyond these engaging sessions, the conference provided multiple opportunities for networking, discussion and relationship-building in the energy codes space. The ability to chat during conference breaks led to great conversations, as did the social hour at local, sustainable B-Corp, MadTree Brewing. One participant said the happy hour event was a really fun way to get to know other attendees in an informal setting. MEEA staff is excited to start planning the 2025 Midwest Building Energy Codes Conference. Next year’s conference will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.