ASHRAE Position Document on

Building Decarbonization

Approved by ASHRAE Board of Directors

June 26, 2022

Expires
June 26, 2025

© 2022 ASHRAE
180 Technology Parkway • Peachtree Corners, Georgia 30092
404-636-8400 • fax: 404-321-5478 • www.ashrae.org
 COMMITTEE ROSTER

The ASHRAE Position Document on Building Decarbonization was developed by the Society's Building Decar-
bonization Position Document Committee.

Kent W. Peterson (Chair) Roger Hedrick

P2S Inc. NORESCO
Long Beach, California, USA Boulder, Colorado, USA

Constantinos A. Balaras Clay Nesler

National Observatory of Athens (NOA) World Resources Institute
Athens, Greece Washington, D.C., USA

Drury B. Crawley Elizabeth K. Tomlinson

Bentley Systems, Inc Stantec
Washington, D.C., USA Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA

Jim Edelson Paul Torcellini

New Building Institute National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Portland, Oregon, USA Golden, Colorado, USA

ASHRAE is a registered trademark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, owned by the
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.

© 2022 ASHRAE (www.ashrae.org). For personal use only. Additional reproduction, distribution, or transmission in either print or digital form is not permitted without ASHRAE's prior written permission.
 HISTORY OF REVISION/REAFFIRMATION/WITHDRAWAL DATES

The following summarizes this document’s revision, reaffirmation, and withdrawal dates:
6/26/2022—BOD approves Position Document titled Building Decarbonization
Note: ASHRAE’s Technology Council and the cognizant committee recommend revision,
reaffirmation, or withdrawal every 30 months.

Note: ASHRAE position documents are approved by the Board of Directors and express the views of the Society
on a specific issue. The purpose of these documents is to provide objective, authoritative background information
to persons interested in issues within ASHRAE’s expertise, particularly in areas where such information will be
helpful in drafting sound public policy. A related purpose is also to serve as an educational tool clarifying
ASHRAE’s position for its members and professionals, in general, advancing the arts and sciences of HVAC&R.

© 2022 ASHRAE (www.ashrae.org). For personal use only. Additional reproduction, distribution, or transmission in either print or digital form is not permitted without ASHRAE's prior written permission.
 CONTENTS

ASHRAE Position Document on Building Decarbonization

SECTION PAGE
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1 The Issue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1 ASHRAE Relevance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2 Decarbonizing the Built Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3 Carbon Reduction Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.4 Decarbonization Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.5 Decarbonization Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3 Positions and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.1 ASHRAE Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.2 ASHRAE Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.3 ASHRAE Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

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 ABSTRACT

This position document recommends embracing building decarbonization strategies to

reduce building greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Buildings provide many benefits to society
but have a significant worldwide environmental impact due to their GHG emissions. The building
industry accounts for roughly 40% of global GHGs, and the global building stock is expected
to double by 2060.
As society faces the challenge of mitigating climate change, ASHRAE’s position is that
decarbonization of buildings and their systems must be based on a holistic analysis including
healthy, safe, and comfortable environments; energy efficiency; environmental impacts;
sustainability; operational security; and economics. By 2030, the global built environment must
at least halve its 2015 GHG emissions, whereby

• all new buildings are net zero GHG emissions in operation,

• widespread energy-efficiency retrofits of existing assets are well underway, and
• embodied carbon of new construction is reduced by at least 40%.

ASHRAE Position Document on Building Decarbonization 1

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 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The buildings we live and work in are responsible for roughly 40% of energy-related green-
house gas (GHG) emissions. As jurisdictions across the planet confront climate change, the
term decarbonization is being used to describe practices or policies that reduce GHG emis-
sions. The standard metric used to quantify GHGs is carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq). Using
a common metric helps evaluate different sources of GHGs in terms of their potential to impact
the atmosphere—also referred to as their global warming potential (GWP).
This position document presents ASHRAE’s position on decarbonizing buildings along with
recommendations for moving forward. ASHRAE membership has the expertise, mission, and
vision to directly address decarbonization in both existing and future buildings while continuing
to provide a healthy and sustainable built environment for all.
The global policies and commitments driving the transformation in building design and
performance are broadly motivated by climate change, and the global building stock is expected
to double by 2060. In response to this call for action, many countries’ public and corporate enti-
ties have set goals to be carbon neutral prior to 2050. Now is the time to turn these commitments
and goals into action. By 2050, at the latest, all new and existing assets must have net zero GHG
emissions across their whole life cycles.
Building decarbonization encompasses a building’s entire life cycle, including building
design, construction, operation, occupancy, and end of life. Building construction, energy use,
methane, and refrigerants are the primary sources of GHG emissions. Building life-cycle
assessment involves consideration of operational and embodied emissions. Operational emis-
sions are generally from energy use. Embodied emissions include GHG emissions associated
with building construction, including extracting, manufacturing, transporting, and installing
building materials, as well as the emissions generated from maintenance, repair, replacement,
refurbishment, and end-of-life activities. Embodied emissions also include refrigerant releases
across the building life cycle.
As new technologies develop and our understanding of the environmental effects of tech-
nology grows, ASHRAE is committed to continued efforts relating to building decarbonization
in the following areas:

• Research and standards development

• Design and equipment applications
• Technical guidance and training
• Regulatory guidelines and measures
• Educational resources and outreach

ASHRAE Position Document on Building Decarbonization 2

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 1. THE ISSUE

Aggressive and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are required to
limit climate change (IPCC 2021). Buildings are a significant source of GHG emissions, and the
global building stock is expected to double by 2060 due to urbanization, population growth, and
related economic trends (UNEP 2021). Buildings have a long lifetime, and decisions made
today can lock in emissions for many decades. Building decarbonization describes methods
that reduce building GHG emissions to the atmosphere. Decarbonizing the building and
construction sector requires action in both new and existing buildings, as well as in operation
and maintenance (O&M).
The building sector is a significant source of global carbon dioxide (CO2) and other GHG
emissions. Building operational energy accounted for 27% of energy-related CO2 emissions in
2020, as shown in Figure 1 (IEA 2021b). The building construction industry (the estimated
portion of the overall industry devoted to manufacturing building construction materials such as
steel, cement, and glass) accounted for an additional 10% of energy-related CO2 emissions in
2020, resulting in a total emissions impact of 37% (UNEP 2021). Other sources such as meth-
ane and refrigerants, not included in Figure 1, add GHG emissions to the atmosphere through
leakage, equipment failure, and improper end-of-life recovery practices.
The decisions made today in the design, manufacturing, and operation of building systems
will have a substantial impact on building-related GHG emissions. ASHRAE stands at the fore-
front in supplying standards, guidance, and education for those decisions, and its historical

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Figure 1 Energy-related CO2 emissions in 2020.
Note: Non-residential buildings are also referred to as service, commercial, or tertiary buildings. Direct energy-
related emissions are from the direct consumption of fossil fuels in buildings, such as natural gas for heating. Indi-
rect energy-related emissions are from electricity generation or during the sourcing, processing, and transporta-
tion of fuels attributed to the building.
IEA 2021b

ASHRAE Position Document on Building Decarbonization 3

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 focus on energy efficiency has resulted in significant GHG emission reductions. As a result,
ASHRAE and its members have an important role in decarbonizing the built environment.

2. BACKGROUND
Building decarbonization encompasses a building’s entire life cycle, including building
design, construction, operation, occupancy, and end of life. Building construction, energy use,
methane leakage, and refrigerants are the primary sources of GHG emissions. Building life-
cycle assessment involves consideration of operational and embodied emissions. Operational
emissions are generally from energy use. Embodied emissions include GHG emissions asso-
ciated with building construction, including extracting, manufacturing, transporting, and install-
ing building materials, as well as the emissions generated from maintenance, repair,
replacement, refurbishment, and end-of-life activities. Embodied emissions also include refrig-
erant losses across the building life cycle.
The primary means for reducing building GHG emissions are the following:

• Reduce building energy use through energy efficiency

• Reduce building embodied carbon
• Eliminate refrigerant releases, minimize leakage, and use low-global-warming-potential
(low-GWP) refrigerants
• Energy-efficient electrification of building energy needs
• Design buildings to optimize grid flexibility
• Provide on-site renewable energy
• Decarbonize the electrical grid

While decarbonized combustion fuels and on-site carbon capture use and storage (CCUS)
are not mainstream building solutions today, they may play a larger role as the technologies are
improved.
Keys to reducing embodied carbon GHG emissions are to minimize refrigerant leakage and
the quantity of materials used on site, reduce energy for transportation by sourcing local mate-
rials, reuse existing buildings and materials, choose new low-carbon materials, and minimize
end-of-life carbon impacts.

2.1 ASHRAE Relevance

ASHRAE has a long history of improving building design and operation and advancing
HVAC&R technologies and applications. ASHRAE’s robust building energy standards continue
to drive improvements in efficiency and long-term energy costs (ASHRAE 2019e). Energy effi-
ciency directly reduces energy-related GHG emissions. ASHRAE has been a driving force
behind global reductions in refrigerant-related emissions from buildings through guidance in its
research, handbooks, and standards (2020b). ASHRAE also facilitates decarbonization
through educational opportunities and the development of guidance materials such as the new
Chapter 36, “Climate Change,” in the 2021 ASHRE Handbook—Fundamentals (2021c) and the
book Smart Grid Application Guide: Integrating Facilities with the Electric Grid (2020c).
ASHRAE’s additional focus on occupant health and safety within the built environment is
expressed in continuously updated design guide documents, handbooks, standards, and other
publications.

ASHRAE Position Document on Building Decarbonization 4

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 For more than a century, ASHRAE has been a leader in building design, operations, and
technology. ASHRAE is advancing strategies toward reduction of life-cycle GHG emissions in
the built environment including embodied carbon. Many ASHRAE standards address decar-
bonization and others are quickly evolving to address the issue. Table 1 lists ASHRAE standards
that address energy efficiency, GHG emissions, refrigerant emissions, and/or renewables or
may include such references in future updates.

Table 1 ASHRAE Standards Addressing

Energy Efficiency, GHG and Refrigerant Emissions, and Renewables

Topic
Operational Embodied
Energy GHG GHG Refrigerant
Standard/Code Efficiency Emissions Emissions Emissions Renewables
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard
34-2019, Designation and
Safety Classification of
Refrigerants
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard
90.1-2019, Energy Standard for
Buildings Except Low-Rise
Residential Buildings
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard
90.2-2018, Energy-Efficient
Design of Low-Rise Residential
Buildings
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard
90.4-2019, Energy Standard for
Data Centers
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard
100-2018, Energy Efficiency in
Existing Buildings
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard
105-2021, Standard Methods of
Determining, Expressing, and
Comparing Building Energy
Performance and Greenhouse
Gas Emissions
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard
147-2019, Reducing the
Release of Halogenated
Refrigerants from Refrigerating
and Air-Conditioning Equipment
and Systems
International Green
Construction Code® and
ANSI/ASHRAE/ICC/USGBC/
IES Standard 189.1-2020,
Standard for the Design of High-
Performance Green Buildings

ASHRAE Position Document on Building Decarbonization 5

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 Table 1 ASHRAE Standards Addressing
Energy Efficiency, GHG and Refrigerant Emissions, and Renewables (Continued)

Topic
Operational Embodied
Energy GHG GHG Refrigerant
Standard/Code Efficiency Emissions Emissions Emissions Renewables
ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE
Standard 189.3-2021, Design,
Construction, and Operation of
Sustainable High-Performance
Health Care Facilities
Proposed ASHRAE Standard
227P, Passive Building Design
Standard
Proposed ASHRAE Standard
228P, Standard Method of
Evaluating Zero Net Energy and
Zero Net Carbon Building
Performance
Proposed ASHRAE Standard
240P, Evaluating Greenhouse
Gas (GHG) and Carbon
Emissions in Building Design,
Construction and Operation
Legend:
Included in standard
Carbon calculation methodology included in standard
Under consideration for inclusion in next update of standard
Included in proposed standard
Carbon calculation methodology included in proposed standard
Note: Energy efficiency directly contributes to operational GHG emission reductions.

2.2 Decarbonizing the Built Environment

The #BuildingToCOP26 Coalition (UNEP 2021) set the following global goal:
By 2030, the built environment should halve its emissions, whereby 100 percent of new
buildings must be net-zero carbon in operation, with widespread energy efficiency retrofit
of existing assets well underway, and embodied carbon must be reduced by at least
40 percent, with leading projects achieving at least 50 percent reductions in embodied
carbon. By 2050, at the latest, all new and existing assets must be net zero across the
whole life cycle, including operational and embodied emissions.
This implies that global building sector emissions must drop by approximately 6% per year from
2020 to 2030. Achieving this goal requires rapidly renovating existing buildings in addition to
improving new building designs. While top priority should be given to implementing energy effi-
ciency, electrification, and renewable energy measures, any residual whole-life-cycle emissions
may need to be offset through off-site carbon reduction or storage projects, certified via inde-
pendent third-party verification (WorldGBC 2021).
Both operational and embodied carbon are significant sources of a building’s life-cycle
carbon impact. Energy-related embodied GHG emissions account for approximately 25% of the

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 total annual global energy-related GHG emissions of buildings and are locked in place as soon
as a building is built, even before its operation. With the built environment floor space forecast
to double from 2020 to 2060, it is imperative that the building industry create embodied carbon
strategies to reduce the environmental impact from buildings (UNEP 2021). Figure 2 (NBI 2022)
illustrates the importance of embodied carbon across a building’s life cycle.
The following building decarbonization design measures can help guide early decision
making:

• Reuse existing buildings, structures, and materials whenever possible.

• Optimize building envelope, orientation, and geometry to reduce energy use and maxi-
mize solar potential.
• Implement passive and active energy-efficiency measures.
• Use waste energy streams.
• Minimize embodied carbon in new construction materials and construction.
• Use energy-efficient electrification of space and water heating.
• Use low-GWP refrigerants and minimize refrigerant volume while maintaining energy effi-
ciency.
• Use grid-integrated control systems to optimize building energy storage and increase
demand flexibility.
• Use renewable energy resources on site and/or off site.
• Provide for effective long-term O&M.

2.3 Carbon Reduction Principles

Building design must prioritize high-performance practices. Design changes become
increasingly challenging and costly the later in a project they are made. Early integrated design
processes can optimize carbon reduction strategies. Design-phase life-cycle assessments can
provide designers with the information to minimize whole-life-cycle GHG emissions.

Figure 2 Building carbon life-cycle stages.

NBI 2022

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 Building design and procurement decisions must account for embodied carbon. Building
architects and engineers can have a direct impact on reducing embodied carbon through
informed design decisions using life-cycle assessment for new buildings and retrofits. Building
embodied carbon can be reduced by 25% or more by reusing materials, specifying alternative
low-carbon materials, and limiting carbon-intensive materials. More research is needed to
determine the embodied carbon impact of various building components and systems.
Building metrics are an important tool for minimizing GHG emissions. Effective design deci-
sions depend on prioritizing the metrics used to make the best decisions to achieve project
goals. A strategy of minimizing GHG emissions means that using energy-efficient electric
options, such as heat pumps, should be considered, even when fossil fuel prices are low. This
approach can be driven through a GHG emissions metric to evaluate building performance,
particularly in energy code compliance.
Increased energy efficiency and building-grid demand flexibility will be required to reduce
the impact of building electrification. The growth of building and transportation electrification
could require a significant increase in electrical grid capacity. This emphasizes the need for
energy efficiency, energy storage, and alignment of consumption with carbon-free generation
to minimize the needed increases. Worldwide, the buildings sector accounted for roughly 50%
of the annual total electricity consumption between 2010 and 2020. The building sector elec-
tricity consumption increased by 24% from 2010 to 2019, an average annual growth rate of 2.7%
(IEA 2021c). The least-cost solution is to aggressively improve a building’s electrical efficiency
and operation with intelligent controls and load flexibility based on minute-by-minute variations
in grid carbon intensity.
For the building sector to decarbonize, global electric grids must decarbonize. Electricity
generation and delivery are currently major contributors to global GHG emissions. Combustible
fuels account for roughly 65% of global gross electricity production. The Net Zero by 2050
scenario (IEA 2021a) shows a path for the electric grid to achieve zero emissions: global gener-
ation from renewables must triple by 2030 and grow eightfold by 2050, as shown in Figure 3.

2.4 Decarbonization Strategies

Decarbonization can happen at any building. Often, decarbonization is simpler with smaller
buildings, including residential and small commercial buildings. While the individual impact
can be small, widely applied turnkey solutions can have a large impact. Heat pump equipment
and other decarbonization strategies are readily available for a wide range of applications.
Campuses and district systems often provide opportunities for larger-scale decarbonization.
Geothermal systems can be designed to service an entire district, while heat recovery from
wastewater, data centers, refrigeration, and industrial processes can supply heat to other
buildings.
Whole-building life-cycle assessment (WBLCA) is an important tool for minimizing the envi-
ronmental impact of buildings and their HVAC&R systems. WBLCA includes assessment of
embodied and operational GHG emissions in addition to other environmental impacts.
New buildings provide the opportunity to set decarbonization goals while in the design
phase. They can use architectural and engineering techniques that minimize energy consump-
tion and integrate renewable energy with energy storage to shift loads to align with lower carbon
periods on the grid. Dispatchable building loads, which allow curtailment or load shifting, can
use machine learning to understand each building individually and anticipate when it will hit
peak load. Building codes are the primary policy instrument to foster widespread adoption of

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 Figure 3 Global electricity generation forecast by source in the Net Zero by 2050 scenario.
Data source: IEA 2021a

decarbonization practices into new construction. Existing buildings are more complex, as each
one is unique, but up-front analysis and design choices can have dramatic long-term decar-
bonization payoffs.
Retrofitting large numbers of existing buildings for decarbonization is critical. This may be
most effectively accomplished at major building life-cycle events such as periodic audits and
inspections, changes in ownership or tenancy, renewals of licensure, changes of building use,
and permitting of additions, alterations, and end-of-life equipment replacement. Existing build-
ing policies such as existing building construction codes, mandatory upgrades, appliance emis-
sion standards, and building performance standards (BPS) are oriented around such triggers
(ASHRAE 2021d). A report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 2021) found that
[s]everal jurisdictions have turned their attention to BPS policies to reduce GHG emis-
sions from existing commercial and multifamily buildings. BPS policies require these
buildings to meet a specific performance target, such as GHG emissions, site energy use
intensity, weather normalized energy use intensity, or an ENERGY STAR score above
the local median.
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 100 is the only ANSI standard that sets energy performance
targets for existing buildings and provides a strong technical framework for assessing current
energy performance levels (ASHRAE 2018b).
Best practices in building O&M can significantly impact emissions reduction, reducing
energy use by 10% or more while extending the lives of building systems and equipment.
Increasing the efficiency of O&M is also cost-effective, with a much shorter payback than build-

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 ing retrofits or other major improvement projects. Effective building O&M starts by installing an
effective energy submetering and monitoring system and implementing a structured commis-
sioning process followed by periodic or continuous building retuning and retrocommissioning.
Note that although extending equipment life can reduce embodied GHG emissions from prema-
ture equipment replacement, the lives of inefficient equipment should not be extended, as this
can result in greater operational emissions over the building life cycle.
Building decarbonization policies will have wide-ranging impacts. At a time when the world
is in social transition, ASHRAE and building industry professionals are well-positioned to
encourage community leadership to permanently improve the built environment in previously
underserved communities. While not all decarbonization benefits may be directly measured,
consideration of all impacts—economic, affordability, equity, health, comfort, security, safety,
and environmental—is required to develop appropriate decarbonization policies and invest-
ments. Corporate financial disclosures increasingly evaluate environment, social, and gover-
nance (ESG) criteria to manage asset, financial, reputation, and legal liability risks. These
criteria disclose compliance with local, state, national and international government require-
ments, environmental stewardship, and future climate readiness. Corporate ESG criteria
increasingly mandate the adoption of low-carbon-emission infrastructure and technology shifts
by property management and design consultants.
Reputation, social standing, and investor influence play increasing roles in corporate deci-
sion making regarding sustainability and climate change mitigation. ASHRAE members can
play a critical role in global decarbonization as expert advisors on the built environment within
their personal and professional lives.
Decarbonized buildings must maintain, if not improve, healthy and resilient indoor environ-
ments. Designers and operators of decarbonized buildings must contemplate the challenges
that ongoing and future climate change pose to buildings and the public’s general health and
safety.

2.5 Decarbonization Challenges

Cold climates present building equipment challenges in achieving decarbonization goals.
Air-source heat pumps have limitations for heating in very cold climates. More research and
development is needed to advance heat pump technologies for very cold climates. Using fossil-
fuel boilers and furnaces as backups may need to be considered until cold-climate technologies
and grid capacities can cost-effectively meet heating loads. Emerging technologies should be
considered as they become viable.
There are electric grid infrastructure challenges in achieving building decarbonization goals.
Widespread electrification of building heating and domestic hot-water systems could require a
substantially larger electrical grid infrastructure, unless there is a substantial reduction in build-
ing energy use through energy efficiency. Supplementing energy efficiency with demand flex-
ibility and storage strategies can reduce the grid impact.
Uncertain return-on-investment projections for building construction and remodeling, manu-
facturing, and selection of building systems pose challenges to the building industry’s decar-
bonization progress. Potential changes in key cost parameters include future local and national
mandates, future availability of nontraditional energy sources or systems, existing utility incen-
tives and rate structures, and existing utility system capacities and future reliability. Changing
climate conditions further complicate the reliable return-on-investment estimations. Ongoing

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 climate change and infrastructure transitions make it increasingly difficult to reliably project
energy costs, GHG emission savings, and return on investment.
Historic buildings present unique challenges in decarbonization. Historic buildings need to
be included in the decarbonization of existing buildings, with ensurances that retrofits maintain
their historic characteristics. Historic building technical challenges will also increase as the
objective moves from energy efficiency to decarbonization. Additional challenges include
undersized electrical infrastructure; steam heat distribution systems that are difficult to decar-
bonize; and interior spaces, envelope assemblies, and exterior surfaces that cannot easily
accommodate new electrical and thermal designs.
Two-thirds of countries have no mandatory or voluntary codes for minimum energy perfor-
mance requirements of new buildings. Increased adoption of building codes and policies is
necessary to move the world toward net zero operational emissions. Current energy codes are
focused on efficiency and energy cost metrics but not GHG metrics. While energy efficiency
reduces GHG emissions, some energy codes are beginning to directly address GHG emis-
sions.
Buildings that can modify their electric loads to match the availability of low-carbon electricity
can maximize carbon reductions. This requires real-time information regarding the carbon
content of grid-supplied power. However, real-time information describing GHG emissions
associated with electricity delivered to the building is not often available. Power-grid carbon
emissions are dynamic, varying locally, seasonally, and by time of day.

3. POSITIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1 ASHRAE Positions

ASHRAE’s positions on responsible building decarbonization are as follows:

• Eliminating GHG emissions from the built environment is essential to address climate
change.
• By 2030, the global built environment must halve its 2015 GHG emissions, whereby
• all new buildings must be net zero GHG emissions in operation,
• widespread energy-efficiency retrofits of existing assets must be well underway, and
• embodied carbon of new construction must be reduced by at least 40%.
• By 2050, at the latest, all new and existing assets must be net zero GHG emissions
across the whole life cycle.
• Building decarbonization provides benefits beyond reducing GHGs, including reduced
indoor and outdoor air pollution, energy savings, improved community health and well-
being, enhanced social responsibility, and increased property valuation.
• Operational energy-related GHG emissions can be reduced by implementing efficiency
measures and building electrification; improving O&M; using low-GWP refrigerants and
minimizing refrigerant volume while maintaining energy efficiency; improving refrigerant
management; and increasing use of renewable energy sources both on site and off site,
energy storage, and building-grid integration.
• Building design and operations should be able to respond to real-time carbon signals from
the power grid to reduce GHG emissions.
• Increasing stringency and enforcement of energy codes are critical for decarbonization.

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 • Whole-building life-cycle assessment (WBLCA) must be considered in future building
codes to reduce embodied and operational GHG emissions related to buildings and their
HVAC&R systems.
• Building performance standards (BPS) should be considered as a policy tool for existing
building decarbonization.
• Decarbonization policies must consider and mitigate impacts on disadvantaged communi-
ties and less-developed nations.
• Building decarbonization strategies and policies must consider healthy, safe, and comfort-
able environments; environmental and social impacts; sustainability; resilience; and eco-
nomics.

3.2 ASHRAE Commitments

ASHRAE commits to the following:

• Develop technical guidance, standards, training, and other tools to support building decar-
bonization policy goals.
• Support research that develops and advances technologies and practices to minimize
building GHG emissions.
• Develop policies and recommendations based on the global science related to the build-
ing sector’s impact on the environment.
• Take a leadership role in determining and harmonizing one set of aligned definitions and
terminology for all building-related carbon terms.
• Strengthen the decarbonization components of ASHRAE standards every three to five
years, consistent with achieving a fully decarbonized built environment by 2050.
• Provide resources to support building performance standards (BPS) development, imple-
mentation, and compliance.
• Develop and revise guidelines and standards to reduce building GHG emissions while
maintaining or improving building indoor environmental quality, sustainability, and resil-
ience.
• Promote whole-building life-cycle assessment (WBLCA).
• Collaborate with other organizations to promote and advance global building decarbon-
ization.
• Advance HVAC&R technologies and practices that minimize refrigerants’ impact on the
environment while enhancing performance, cost-effectiveness, and safety.
• Mobilize ASHRAE grassroots members around the world to encourage sound, balanced,
and innovative carbon reduction strategies and become involved with policy-setting
entities.
• Support beneficial electrification of heating through education, information dissemination,
and focused training.
• Educate and train the future workforce for building decarbonization.

3.3 ASHRAE Recommendations

To support global building decarbonization, ASHRAE recommends that governmental and
nongovernmental institutions focus on the following areas.

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 3.3.1 Research, Standards, and Guidelines Development

• Promote research and development programs that investigate and adopt building decar-
bonization strategies that lower GHG emissions and increase grid flexibility without com-
promising indoor environmental quality and safety.
• Promote research and development of heat pump technology.
• Support the development, update, and adoption of relevant standards and guidelines that
facilitate the whole-life-cycle reduction of GHG emissions from new and existing buildings.
• Encourage standardization of measurement and labeling of embodied carbon in building
materials, systems, and equipment.

3.3.2 Improved Design and Equipment Applications

• Balance safety, energy efficiency, cost, and environmental impacts to achieve building
decarbonization.
• Advance the design, development, and application of HVAC&R equipment and systems
that minimize GHG emissions during the life of the equipment.
• Encourage greater collaboration and the development of standards and guidelines among
the energy, transportation, and building sectors to improve secure building-grid integra-
tion, data communication, and optimization of energy performance (generation, use, and
storage).
• Develop tools, equipment, methodologies, and practices to minimize or prevent GHG
emissions during installation, operation, maintenance, retrofit, and decommissioning of
buildings and their systems.
• Develop the data and methods needed for calculating practical, repeatable, and verifiable
procedures for estimating embodied carbon in HVAC&R equipment and mechanical
systems.

3.3.3 Workforce Development

• Work in partnership with industry to increase the capacity and opportunities for a skilled
workforce supporting building decarbonization.
• Support funding for building decarbonization training and curriculum development.

4. REFERENCES
ASHRAE. n.d. Proposed ASHRAE Standard 227P, Passive building design standard. Forth-
coming. Peachtree Corners, GA: ASHRAE.
ASHRAE. n.d. Proposed ASHRAE Standard 228P, Standard method of evaluating zero net
energy and zero net carbon building performance. Forthcoming. Peachtree Corners,
GA: ASHRAE.
ASHRAE. n.d. Proposed ASHRAE Standard 240P, Evaluating greenhouse gas (GHG) and
carbon emissions in building design, construction and operation. Forthcoming.
Peachtree Corners, GA: ASHRAE.
ASHRAE. 2018a. ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.2-2018, Energy-efficient design of low-
rise residential buildings. Peachtree Corners, GA: ASHRAE.
ASHRAE. 2018b. ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 100-2018, Energy efficiency in existing build-
ings. Peachtree Corners, GA: ASHRAE.

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© 2022 ASHRAE (www.ashrae.org). For personal use only. Additional reproduction, distribution, or transmission in either print or digital form is not permitted without ASHRAE's prior written permission.
 ASHRAE. 2019a. ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2019, Energy standard for buildings
except low-rise residential buildings. Peachtree Corners, GA: ASHRAE.
ASHRAE. 2019b. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 34-2019, Designation and safety classification of
refrigerants. Peachtree Corners, GA: ASHRAE.
ASHRAE. 2019c. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 90.4-2019, Energy standard for data centers.
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ASHRAE. 2019d. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 147-2019, Reducing the release of halogenated
refrigerants from refrigerating and air-conditioning equipment and systems. Peachtree
Corners, GA: ASHRAE.
ASHRAE. 2019e. ASHRAE position document on energy efficiency in buildings. Peachtree
Corners, GA: ASHRAE. www.ashrae.org/file%20library/about/position%20documents/
pd_energyefficiencyinbuildings_2020.pdf.
ASHRAE. 2020a. ANSI/ASHRAE/ICC/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2020, Standard for the
design of high-performance green buildings. Peachtree Corners, GA: ASHRAE.
ASHRAE. 2020b. ASHRAE position document on refrigerants and their responsible use.
Peachtree Corners, GA: ASHRAE. www.ashrae.org/file%20library/about/position%20
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sions. Peachtree Corners, GA: ASHRAE.
ASHRAE. 2021c. Chapter 36, Climate change. In ASHRAE Handbook—Fundamentals.
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GA: ASHRAE. www.ashrae.org/file%20library/about/building-performance-standards-
overview-2021-9-16---staff-review.pdf.
CEN. 2011. EN 15978:2011, Sustainability of construction works. Assessment of environ-
mental performance of buildings. Calculation method. Brussels: European Committee
For Standardization (CEN).
EPA. 2021. Understanding and choosing metrics for building performance standards and
zero-carbon recognition. Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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ICC. 2021. International Green Construction Code®. Washington, DC: International Code
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10b13d840027/NetZeroby2050-ARoadmapfortheGlobalEnergySector_CORR.pdf.
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reports/tracking-buildings-2021.

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© 2022 ASHRAE (www.ashrae.org). For personal use only. Additional reproduction, distribution, or transmission in either print or digital form is not permitted without ASHRAE's prior written permission.
 IEA. 2021c. World energy outlook 2021. Paris: International Energy Agency. www.iea.org/
reports/world-energy-outlook-2021.
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land, OR: New Buildings Institute. https://gettingtozeroforum.org/wp-content/uploads/
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Buildings-GSR-2021_BOOK.pdf.
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Whole%20Life%20Carbon_PUBLICATION.pdf.

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