Austin Energy Green Building
Sustainable, Healthy Solutions for Home, Community, and Business
Austin Energy Green Building (AEGB) helps people design and construct buildings that protect the environment, save money and make people’s lives better and healthier. Through green building ratings, consulting services, code advancement, education and professional development, the AEGB team works with the building industry to make Austin a better place to live, both now and in the future. As the city and community grows, AEGB continues to raise the standards for energy efficiency, water quality and conservation, material resources, site development, health and wellbeing.
In partnership with community leaders and industry professionals, AEGB addresses environmental, community, health, and economic issues specific to the Central Texas region. Developing and maintaining Austin-specific rating systems helps Austin Energy carry out the City of Austin's bold and aggressive climate protection goals.
Leadership, Innovation, and Planning
In 1991, AEGB developed the first rating system in the U.S. for evaluating the sustainability of buildings, inspiring many cities to follow as well as the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification system. The rating systems reward sustainable building practices, lead to high-performing buildings and create market demand for green buildings. As the market recognizes sustainable building practices, these measures are incorporated into Austin’s codes and local building regulations.
AEGB Rating System: A Checklist for Green Building
AEGB provides design tools and rates the sustainability of new and remodeled buildings for single family, multifamily, and commercial projects. Projects are rated on a scale of one to five stars based on a point system of basic and elected sustainable measures. The star icons on select photos indicate the AEGB rating earned. Rating data collection started in Fiscal Year1993.
20,671 Total AEGB Rated Projects from FY1993 through FY2023
Single Family
20,066 production and custom homes
Multifamily
226 residential
< 8 stories
38,422 dwelling units
44,087,932 sq. ft.
Commercial
379 commercial + residential > 7 stories
14,924 dwelling units
51,772,876 sq. ft.
*Links are to cumulative data sources updated monthly and feature achievements of participating projects with metrics, project information, and images starting in FY2022. These pages will be updated annually and links to previous years will be provided.
AEGB Rating Star Chart
The bar chart shows the cumulative number and percentage of projects for each star rating. Hover over each bar to see details.
Austin's Energy Code
AEGB is responsible for the development of Austin's Energy Code and collaborates on the community engagement process that results in its adoption. Since 2001, the City of Austin has adopted the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) with local amendments. Hover over the timeline to view the history of energy code adoption.
Results of Ratings and Energy Code - Total Reported from FY2007 through FY2023
Results reporting began in Fiscal Year 2007 to measure progress toward goals of the Austin Climate Protection Plan (PDF). In September 2021, City Council adopted the Austin Climate Equity Plan. Definitions for the metrics are provided below. Equivalent Impacts are provided for scale, so the data is more relatable.
- Demand savings – 410 MW
- Electricity savings – 896,449 MWh
- Natural Gas savings – 2,571,987 ccf
- Solar PV generation – 5,996 MWh
- CO2e savings – 146,041 metric tons
- Water savings – 1,119,903,000 gallons
- Construction Waste diversion – 1,945,768 tons
Demand Savings
Demand savings in megawatts (MW) to reduce summer
peak load on the electric system due to building design and systems efficiency
improvements over standards.
Electricity Savings
Electricity savings in megawatt hours (MWh) for
cooling, heating, and lighting systems and appliances due to building design
and efficiency improvements over standards.
Natural Gas Savings
Natural gas savings in hundreds of cubic feet (ccf) for
space heating and water heating due to improved building envelope, heating
systems, plumbing fixtures and appliances.
Solar PV Generation
Electricity generated by solar photovoltaic (PV) systems
installed on rated buildings.
CO2e Savings
Greenhouse gas emissions savings in pounds of
CO2-equivalents is the average carbon intensity of the reduction in electricity
delivered from Austin Energy.
Water Savings
Reduction
in potable water used for plumbing fixtures, appliances, equipment, irrigation,
and processes due to efficiency improvements over standards and process
improvements.
AEGB
contributes to the energy efficiency goals of Austin Energy’s Resource Generation, and Climate Protection Plan to 2030 and the water
conservation goals of Austin Water’s Water Forward Plan.
Waste Impact: Turning Problems into Solutions
One of AEGB's most influential achievements helped create a market for construction waste diversion services. In the early 2000s, AEGB recognized that there were few landfill alternatives other than construction waste used onsite as mulch or fill. AEGB saw an opportunity and drove demand for services by requiring the diversion of construction waste as a basic requirement for our commercial building rating.
Soon after, AEGB worked with a local contractor to help him secure a City-owned site where construction waste could be sorted. This site proved to be a significant resource for contractors who were working toward an AEGB rating. Construction waste diversion became widespread. In November 2015, the Austin City Council approved the Construction and Demolition Recycling Ordinance.