Evanston, Illinois recently passed the Healthy Buildings Ordinance (HBO),  taking action to address emissions in their existing buildings. The HBO implements a Building Performance Standard (BPS), the first city in Illinois, and only the second city in the Midwest. Evanston, situated 12 miles north of Chicago and home to over 75,000 residents and Northwestern University, voted to approve the ordinance on March 10th, 2025.

On February 24, Evanston, Illinois’ city council voted to make Evanston the first city in the State to adopt the newly available stretch energy code for new residential and commercial buildings. This is a significant step for Evanston to achieve the emissions reduction goals outlined in its 2018 Climate Action and Resilience Plan.  

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.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin recently passed an energy benchmarking ordinance, a proven method for reducing building energy use in as little as one year after reporting. This is a significant achievement for Milwaukee, as it is an important step positioned by their recently adopted Climate and Equity Plan.  

When most people think about nature, the first place their minds wander is not often ‘buildings.’  As made clear throughout ACEEE’s Summer Study conference, this is different for people working in the building energy efficiency space.  

For these buildings professionals, balancing nature and the built environment is a constant challenge. They must weigh power and fuel generation mix while prioritizing energy efficiency, consider multi-dimensional feedback in design and responsibly manage the planet's limited natural resources amidst climate change and the increasing global demand for covered spaces.

On April 25th, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced they had completed the review and approval process of an updated energy efficiency code for federally funded housing projects. These projects, an estimated annual 165,000 homes developed with funds from HUD or the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), will now be required to follow the provisions from the 2021 IECC for residential or ASHRAE 90.1-2019 for commercial buildings. 

Where are we with training a new workforce?

Building and energy codes are improving with each edition published so that occupants of new buildings have an increasingly healthier, safer environment, and a reduction in energy consumption and carbon impact. Highlighted in conversations with building officials and builders across the Midwest is the fact that skilled workers are retiring. Young people looking for a career path, or those looking for a career change, are not aware of the career possibilities in the construction industry that support healthier buildings. How many high schoolers say they want a career as a building inspector or as a HERS rater?

This material was originally published on the Sustainable Energy Action Committee website and is republished here with permission.

MEEA’s Buildings Team recently held its 14th Annual Midwest Building Energy Codes Conference in Indianapolis on September 13 - 14. As in years past, the conference brought together various stakeholders from the region- and beyond-, including municipal decisionmakers, city staff, builders, architects, utility policy managers, researchers, engineers and university directors.

On June 20, 2023, the Village Board of Oak Park, Illinois voted in favor of an all-electric new construction ordinance as part of their building code. This makes Oak Park the first municipality in Illinois - and the Midwest - to pass an electrification ordinance. Electrification was one of the steps identified as necessary to achieve community-wide net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as set forth by the Village in Climate Ready Oak Park. This follows the adoption of a benchmarking ordinance approved in February 2023.