The 2026 Better Buildings & Better Plants Summit, held in May in the Washington, DC, area, convened program partners, industry experts, and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and National Laboratory leadership to discuss the latest trends, technologies, and strategies in the nationwide effort to reduce costs, waste, and the consumption of energy and water.
Kicked off with a welcome from Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative Director Nate Allen, the Summit brought together hundreds of attendees from across the country and across commercial, industrial, and public sectors to participate in engaging sessions and workshops, share proven pathways, and collaborate on industry challenges. Throughout the event, partners shared their challenges and success stories for implementing energy, water, and waste reduction at their buildings and plants. Organizations apply these insights to enhance their operations, while DOE integrates feedback into its programs and tools to strengthen partner support and drive further innovation.
Read on for highlights from the 2026 Better Buildings & Better Plants Summit.
Opening Plenary
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Michael Helmer and Deputy Assistant Secretary for DOE’s Office of Innovation, Affordability, and Consumer Choice Dr. Carolyn Snyder provided opening remarks celebrating the role of Better Buildings & Better Plants partners in advancing American energy independence and economic competitiveness. Leadership commended partners for their commitment to reducing energy use, de-risking solutions for others to replicate, and helping to make energy innovation more affordable and achievable across industries.
In addition, DOE recognized 13 recent Better Buildings Challenge and Better Plants Challenge Goal Achievers. These partners have achieved significant reductions in energy, water, and/or waste and stand as real-world examples to their peers across the public and private sectors.
Following remarks from DOE leadership, manufacturers in the Commercial Building HVAC Accelerator shared insights into how industry and government can best collaborate to advance cost-effective technology innovation. Launched just two years ago, the Commercial Building HVAC Accelerator has demonstrated rapid progress in developing new technologies to bring to market.
Hearing from the Experts: Emerging Technologies and Trends
On day two, Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson, head of DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, and Senior Advisor for DOE’s Office of Innovation, Affordability and Consumer Choice Michael Sangaline highlighted Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative partners’ integral role in driving technological advancements and promoting affordability across the American economy.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for DOE’s Office of Innovation, Affordability, and Consumer Choice Dr. Carolyn Snyder moderated a panel of experts from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the National Laboratory of the Rockies, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who discussed the latest trends, research, and technologies that are advancing American commercial and industrial cost savings.
Attendees heard from the director of DOE’s Industrial Technologies Office, Dr. Avi Shultz, about the importance of industrial partners’ work to improve energy performance, support the American workforce, and increase domestic industrial competitiveness.
Celebrating Better Project, Better Practice, and Financial Innovation Award Winners
DOE recognized more than 40 partners for innovative and industry-leading projects, practices, and financing solutions for energy, water, and waste reduction. In addition to plenary recognition by Director of DOE’s Industrial Technologies Office Dr. Avi Shultz and Director of DOE’s Building Technologies Office Hayes Jones, award winners participated in a poster hall networking break, sharing key highlights and innovations. Get to know this year’s award winners here.
Sessions
The 2026 Better Buildings & Better Plants Summit featured more than 50 partner-led sessions showcasing real-world, replicable strategies to reduce energy, water, and waste. Topics included:
- Advancing workforce capabilities for managing modern buildings, facilities, and plants
- Leveraging advanced controls for optimized building operations
- Making the business case for capital improvement projects
- Harnessing the power of AI for energy optimization
- Accelerating residential and commercial energy and cost savings
- Reading, understanding, and lowering utility bills
- Accessing funding for infrastructure and energy projects
Workshops
Attendees had the opportunity to join four engaging and interactive workshops designed to increase participants’ knowledge of energy savings strategies, DOE’s software tools, emerging technologies, and National Laboratory capabilities. Through collaborative problem solving, partners worked with peers and experts to address current challenges and gain practical implementation strategies.
Sector Meetups
Partners joined sector meetups to discuss the latest opportunities, challenges, and developments in their sectors. These meetups enabled collaboration for attendees within specific industries to address pressing, sector-specific barriers and accelerate innovation and cost savings.
Through the Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative, DOE partners with leaders in the public and private sectors to improve the energy performance of our nation’s buildings and manufacturing plants. Learn more about the Better Buildings & Better Plants Initiative here.