Alliance to Save Energy

(ASE)
SAIS Practicum Project 2010-11

Cooperative Energy Efficiency Design for Sustainability (CEEDS) project with Asia-Pacific Energy
Research Centre

Client: The Alliance to Save Energy

The Alliance to Save Energy was established in 1977 as a non-profit coalition of prominent business,
government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy
worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, and economic growth. The organization supports
energy efficiency as a cost-effective energy resource under existing market conditions and advocates
energy-efficiency policies that minimize costs to all sectors of society, and that lessen greenhouse gas
emissions and their impact on the global climate.

The Alliance has carried out projects in 30 developing and transition countries in Asia, Latin America,
Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States, building coalitions
with key stakeholders and working with local partners to implement programs that create lasting
improvements in energy efficiency. The Alliance’s international team has a wealth of experience in the
suite of approaches needed to design and implement projects that improve policy and regulatory
frameworks, facilitate financing, build technical capacity, educate children, reach out to the public, and
actively engage the private sector.

Project: CEEDS Phase 2: Building Energy Codes

The Alliance to Save Energy is supporting the Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC)’s Cooperative
Energy Efficiency Design for Sustainability (CEEDS) project, helping developing economies in the Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region design and implement energy efficiency measures.  The
project consists of the following activities:
1) Carrying out a region-wide assessment of energy efficiency potential and identifying the policies
and implementation steps needed to realize this potential, and

2) Holding a series of two workshops in a particular sector, to discuss how the identified measures
can be implemented in developing APEC economies. 

In 2010-2011, the CEEDS project is focusing on building energy codes – along with the related topics of
building and building component energy testing/rating.  The two workshops on this topic will take place
in September 2010 in Thailand and early 2011 in China.  The built environment not only accounts for the
highest portion of overall energy consumption in most countries, but it also offers some of the most
cost-effective energy savings opportunities. Energy codes and complementary programs are important
to reduce energy consumption and pollutants by making new construction more energy efficient. New
construction is the least costly time – and sometimes the only time – to implement some of the most
cost-effective energy saving features in a building, such as proper site selection and orientation, building
envelope, daylighting, and capacity for renewables. By setting the minimum level of efficiency for new
buildings, codes can be a highly effective policy to achieve significant, cost-effective energy savings in
the rapidly growing building stock of APEC economies. The adoption of codes and standards can also
support the expansion of product availability, the development of improved design and construction
practices and services, and increase uptake of high performance building practices. When operated in a
coordinated fashion, codes and voluntary programs advance building design and construction practices
toward long-term energy efficiency goals. Finally, a number of global companies finance, build, operate,
and insure buildings in many countries across the world. Building energy efficiency codes that are
publicly available, achieve cost-effective opportunities for building operations, and work with the
building product and equipment markets are attractive to these global companies that have to monitor
and comply with many different standards.

This project supports developing economies in uncovering where there are opportunities to improve
policies and practices to support greater energy savings and carbon reductions through building energy
codes. Workshop attendees in September will report out on the status of codes in their home
economies and work toward planning improvements in preparation for the second workshop next year.

Deliverables
SAIS Practicum students would support the Alliance in helping to flesh out the specifics of code
compliance/ enforcement in 1 or 2 APEC economies with fairly well established codes – e.g., in Russia,
Japan, Chile, Mexico, and Thailand.  The students would research this topic during the fall, and then
travel to a selected developing APEC economy (possibly in between the first and second CEEDS
workshops) to help research and assess current practices in the country, and to help produce a
recommendations report for that country.    Rather than focusing on written codes and regulations, their
goal would be to characterize practice on the ground, through site visits to talk to local building
authorities, developers, and builders/contractors.   The field work would include investigation of the
actual availability of needed codes infrastructure, including:
 Design tools (If present, how widely available are they? Are they common practice?)

 Technical training for designers, contractors, code officials

 Reliably tested and rated efficient buildings components (Are they easily available and not cost-
prohibitive?)

The students will receive guidance throughout the activity from the Alliance project leads based in
Washington, DC.  Expected deliverables:
 Scoping Report: selection of 1 or 2 APEC economies with a brief scoping report on the types of
information to gather and the possible methodology. (Suggested timeframe: September/
October 2010)

 Work Plan: reflecting initial findings, identifying information gaps to be filled though field study,
and relevant agencies, groups and other stakeholders to contact within the economy. Provide a
methodology template for gathering data and a travel plan. (Suggested timeframe: December
2010)

 Final Report: building on research findings and field study, along with other project outcomes
(as provided by the Alliance) develop recommendations for the selected economy on
 opportunites within the building sector. Present final report on recommendations. (Suggested
timeframe: Draft in March 2011; presentation of Final Report in April 2011)

Skills
 Excellent research and communications skills
 Strong writing skills
 Experience or interest in working in developing countires
 Background in energy, engineering, or architecture a plus
 Foreign language fluency a plus

Client Contact Information

Aleisha Khan
Building Codes Assistance Project - a project of the Alliance to Save Energy
1850 M Street, NW, Ste. 600, Washington, DC 20036
akhan@ase.org
www.bcap-ocean.org

Jeff Harris
Alliance to Save Energy
1850 M Street, NW, Ste. 600, Washington, DC 20036
jharris@ase.org
www.ase.org