State of Decarbonization: Progress in U.S. Commercial Buildings 2023

Achieving U.S. climate goals will require deep reductions across the U.S. commercial real estate sector. This report brings together key data and mechanisms for reducing buildings’ carbon emissions, and highlights where the commercial building sector is making progress and areas that pose a challenge to decarbonization targets.

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State of Decarbonization: Progress in U.S. Commercial Buildings 2023, first released at COP28, is the first report to bring together, in one place, a discussion of the U.S. commercial real estate sector’s progress, the current status of data availability, and an exploration of the mechanisms and levers available to reduce the carbon emissions of commercial buildings in the United States. With full citations, sources, and methodology provided, these analyses focus on energy and operational emissions where data are more robust and actions more mature.

This report complements USGBC’s growing body of critical new resources for building decarbonization, to help policymakers, advocates, and companies understand the landscape and develop strategies to achieve the urgent scale of action needed.

Charts and graphs

We have provided tables and charts to facilitate use of the report’s resources. Unless otherwise stated, the graphics provided are the property of USGBC and are protected by intellectual property laws. You may freely download and copy the material with attribution.

Recommended citation
Melanie Colburn, Tess McNamara, and Linda Toth, State of Decarbonization: Progress in U.S. Commercial Buildings 2023, U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC), 2023, https://www.usgbc.org/resources/state-decarbonization-progress-us-commercial-buildings-2023