John Jennings, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, Portland, Ore.

The bleeding edge of green

View the full story, including all images and figures, in our monthly digital edition   As local and national forces push toward higher levels of energy efficiency in buildings—even to net zero—a heated debate has broken out over what levels of efficiency are really achievable. The Commercial Real Estate Development Assn . (formerly known as NAIOP) generally supports the move to more efficient, sustainable buildings, but recently came out with a study claiming that efficiency levels above 30% are just not economically viable for today's office building market. The April online issue of BuildingGreen.com admirably framed the study by saying it “reflects the two-pronged industry resistance to green building: energy efficiency is either seen as too expensive or as requiring too much change in design and construction practices.” This debate needs to be put in context. First, we need to consider what is technically achievable.