Better Buildings Challenge
Multifamily Sector

The Better Buildings Challenge (BBC) is a voluntary leadership initiative that asks multifamily property owners and managers to make a commitment to improving the energy efficiency of their property portfolios by 20 percent over 10 years and to share their annual progress and lessons learned with the public. The Federal Government provides support to BBC Partners in overcoming obstacles on their journeys and highlights their good work.

Each BBC Partner commits to:

Pledge an organization-wide energy savings goal of at least 20 percent within 10 years
Publish 2 short case studies, showcasing an energy efficiency project and an organization-wide implementation model
Report results annually by sharing energy performance data that demonstrates success

*Partners are strongly encouraged to consider making a pledge to reduce portfolio-wide water consumption as well.

Learn more about the Better Buildings Initiative +

The Better Buildings Initiative, of which the Challenge is a part, emerged out of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is spearheaded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In 2013, the BBC expanded through partnership with HUD beyond the Commercial Sector to include the Multifamily Sector.

As of October 1, 2019 more than 95 multifamily housing providers, representing over 600 million square feet of real estate and impacting roughly 634,000 households, have made energy and/or water efficiency commitments through the BBC.

The BBC Multifamily Sector is diverse, including partners that:

Own as few as 2 properties and as many as several thousand
Work in a single place and nationwide
Serve rural and urban areas
Are for-profit and nonprofit
Offer market-rate and affordable housing

Leaders in energy and water efficiency come in all shapes and sizes and are motivated by the opportunity to:

Reduce operations costs
Eliminate energy and water waste
Improve tenant health
Promote energy independence
Combat climate change

Energy and Water Efficiency Resources

Access technical resources, policy guidance, planning tools, and other resources to improve the energy and water performance of your multifamily housing portfolio.