The Denver Regional Council of Governments' Building Policy Collaborative
What is the Building Policy Collaborative?
In August 2024, the Denver Regional Council of Governments received a $199.7 million Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to develop a Building Decarbonization Program focused on reducing climate pollution from the building sector. The grant work plan includes a $39 million policy component to support pollution reduction and healthy buildings by advancing consistent, coordinated and ambitious high-performance building policy across the region. The Building Policy Collaborative will support DRCOG member jurisdictions through October 2029 to implement new, above state minimum building energy codes and performance standards, equipment replacement standards, permitting reform and other building policies. The collaborative provides local governments with capacity-building subawards and problem solving through a peer network and research capacity.
What will the Building Policy Collaborative fund?
- Jurisdictional Support Subaward - $34.8 million in subawards to jurisdictions with DRCOG's planning area for staff capacity and resources to help local governments achieve pollution reduction through high-performance building policy and process improvements. Additional information, including the subaward policy, can be found under “Resources” section at the bottom of this page.
- Building Policy Collaborative - $2.6 million contract for regional policy network facilitation and logistical support for zero emissions and electric-forward policy.
- Research and Development - $1 million budgeted for localized research to answer, cost, infrastructure and other technical questions being raised by member jurisdictions.
What are the grant's building policy goals and timeline for the grant period?
| Timeline | Description |
|---|---|
| End of 2025 | Jurisdictions have co-developed a region wide roadmap towards zero emission buildings; individual jurisdictions have identified their policy priorities through 2030; first round of jurisdiction support funds awarded (continued periodically). |
| End of 2026 | Participating jurisdictions are implementing State of Colorado Low Energy and Carbon Code. |
| End of 2027 | Communities representing 65% of regional population are implementing zero-emission building policy for new construction. |
| 2030 Goal | Entire region operates under zero or near zero emission building policy for new construction; communities representing 65% of the regional population are implementing enhanced appliance requirements upon replacement; communities representing 33% of regional population have advanced energy efficiency requirements for existing building 10,000 to 50,000 square feet. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it important to advance local high-performance building policies now?
Building policies are one of the primary tools local governments have to protect residents from pollution and energy cost burdens and to ensure safe and healthy indoor and outdoor environments for generations. Consistent building policies are easier for builders and equipment suppliers to follow. The Decarbonize DRCOG grant is time limited funding for jurisdictions to exceed the coming state minimums and meet sustainability goals together as a region. Most importantly, moving buildings toward electric equipment will prevent residents and businesses, including contractors, from being left behind in the transition to combustion-free technology.
For more information on the Building Policy Collaborative, contact buildingpolicy@drcog.org.