Global Collaborations

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Urban Land Institute's Net Zero Imperative

Kansas City joins seven global cities to advance the energy performance of buildings to combat climate change

In partnership with ULI Kansas City, Building Energy Exchange KC was selected to lead the Kansas City region in a multiyear cohort to accelerate decarbonization in our regional building sector. Other cities include Austin, Texas; Los Angeles, California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Jose, California; Shenzhen, China; Beijing, China; and Toronto, Canada. The multiyear cohort model will allow BE-Ex KC and its local partners the opportunity to collaborate and share best practices and collective resources.

The ULI Net Zero Imperative (funded by Owen Thomas, CEO of Boston Properties and Global Chair of ULI), is a recognition that cities, countries, investors, and tenants need to work together to decarbonize their buildings. Leading investors are now including environmental, social, and governance factors (ESG) in their real estate debt and equity considerations. Tenants include it in their leasing decisions. And many regulators continue to incorporate a path to net-zero emissions into their building codes and regulations for both new and existing buildings. A goal of this initiative is to bring the private sector and city governments together on policy and incentives that can help accelerate investment in net-zero practices.

ULI's Greenprint Center for Building Performance also provided grant funding to support a 2-day Technical Assistance Panel which brought national and local expertise to the table to advise on the creation of an Energy Efficiency Investment Fund (EEIF). Similar to energy efficiency financing tools being deployed across the country, the EEIF has the potential to unlock a growing market for energy efficiency retrofits and new development for our region. Learn more about the TAP and BE-Ex's work in fund development here >>

International Urban and Regional Cooperative
Renovation Wave in Europe and North America

In collaboration with Climate Action KC and the International Urban and Regional Cooperative (IURC), BE-Ex KC partnered with the metropolitan area of GZM (Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia), Poland to explore strategies for addressing climate change. Through a series of themed virtual conversations, we discussed our shared challenges and opportunities in public policy development, private sector engagement, and program implementation. In addition to our GZM colleagues, Kansas City hosted 18 other regions in North America and Europe for an in-person exchange the first week of April 2022. The program theme was "Renovation Wave" to discuss the many ways that buildings across the globe will need to be retrofitted to accommodate energy-efficiency, resilient infrastructure, and renewable power. BE-Ex KC Director Ashley Sadowski, BE-Ex KC Board Member Ashley Hand, and Climate Action KC President Lindsey Constance will travel to GZM, Poland in June 2022 to learn first-hand the decarbonization strategies that have been implemented in their region.