Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines | Better Buildings Initiative

Improving the operational performance of the nation’s offices, schools, hospitals, and other commercial buildings offers significant energy savings. It also requires highly skilled and qualified workers, particularly as building technologies become more advanced. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) worked with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and industry stakeholders to develop the Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines -- voluntary national guidelines to improve the quality and consistency of commercial building workforce credentials. The Guidelines focus on four key energy-related jobs: Building Energy Auditor, Building Commissioning Professional, Building Operations Professional, Energy Manager.

View the Guidelines

For job scopes in the residential building sector, DOE has developed the Energy Skilled program to recognize training programs and certifications that align with clean energy transition goals.

DOE-Recognized Programs

DOE recognizes certification programs that are aligned with the Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines and which have received qualified accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), International Accreditation Service, or other qualified accreditation bodies who are in compliance with ISO/IEC 17024:2012. Once programs have received accreditation, they can submit their request for recognition through an online form.

BUILDING ENERGY AUDITOR

ASHRAE, BEAP
Certified Building Energy Assessment Professionals (BEAP) are individuals who assess building systems and site conditions, analyze and evaluate equipment and energy usage, and recommend strategies to optimize building resource utilization.

Association of Energy Engineers,CEA®
Certified Energy Auditors are individuals who evaluate and analyze how energy is being used in a facility, identify energy conservation opportunities, and make recommendations where consumption can be reduced or optimized.

BUILDING COMMISSIONING PROFESSIONAL

AABC Commissioning Group, CxA
The Certified Commissioning Authority (CxA) certification is available to independent professionals who implement commissioning processes in new and existing buildings. They serve building owners’ best interests by delivering facilities with systems that perform as intended.

ASHRAE, BCxP
Certified Building Commissioning Professionals (BCxP) are individuals who lead, plan, coordinate, and manage a commissioning team to implement commissioning processes in new and existing buildings.

Building Commissioning Association, CCP
Certified Commissioning Professionals are individuals who lead, plan, coordinate, and manage commissioning for new and existing buildings.

National Environmental Balancing Bureau, CxPP
Commissioning Process Professionals (CxPP) respond to the need for a commissioning-based protocol to be deployed in new construction and retro-commissioning projects. CxPPs create added value by comprehensively addressing the energy efficiency of building systems and their ongoing operations.

ENERGY MANAGER

Association of Energy Engineers, CEM®
Certified Energy Managers are individuals who optimize the energy performance of a facility, building, or industrial plant. The CEM® is a systems integrator for electrical, mechanical, process, and building infrastructure, analyzing the optimum solutions to reduce energy consumption in a cost-effective approach.

Energy Management Association, EMP
Energy Management Professionals utilize energy efficiency and data-driven system analysis to optimize performance in facilities. The EMP incorporates commissioning, energy management, and testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) procedures to ensure effective and sustainable results.

Click MORE for details about each job category.

Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines Scope
Job Titles	Job Descriptions
Building Energy Auditor	The Commercial Building Energy Auditor is an energy solutions professional who assesses building systems and site conditions, analyzes and evaluates equipment and energy usage, and recommends strategies to optimize building resource utilization.
Building Commissioning Professional	The Building Commissioning (Cx) Professional is an individual who leads, plans, coordinates and manages a commissioning team to implement commissioning processes in new and existing buildings.
Building Operations Professional	The Building Operations Professional manages the maintenance and operation of building systems and installed equipment and performs general maintenance to maintain the building’s operability, optimize building performance, and ensure the comfort, productivity, and safety of the building occupants.
Energy Manager	An Energy Manager is responsible for managing and continually improving energy performance in commercial buildings by establishing and maintaining an energy program management system that supports the mission and goals of the organization.

Learn more about the development of the Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines here.
Download the Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines FactSheet.

Participate

Sign up for updates
This is the best way to make sure you stay current on all DOE buildings workforce activities.

NIBS Commercial Workforce Credentialing Council
The NIBS Commercial Workforce Certification Council is responsible for developing and updating the technical content of the Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines. Sign up on the NIBS website if you want to contribute to the effort.

Contact the Better Buildings Workforce Team
We will do our best to answer your email within 48 hours.

Additional Information

DOE also provides resources geared specifically towards the industrial sector workforce:

Better Plants In-Plant Trainings (INPLTs) pass on valuable technical expertise on energy-saving projects and practices to partners’ workforces. Since 2011, 1,600 industrial workers have benefited from participating in INPLTs.
Through DOE’s Industrial Assessment Centers (IAC), university students from across the country have conducted more than 18,000 no-cost energy assessments. They are not only helping small- and medium-sized manufacturers save energy, but also gaining valuable, hands-on training for their own engineering careers.

Building Re-Tuning Training
As much as 20% of the energy consumed in commercial buildings is due to inefficient operations. This is energy that can be saved with operational improvements and does not require major capital investments. This building re-tuning training program is designed to educate building operators, facility engineers, and service personnel in commercial buildings about how to find and fix these energy-wasting practices.

Workforce Resources for Better Buildings Partners
This collection of resources can help Better Buildings partners as they continue to pursue energy efficiency improvements at their facilities through a more engaged and well-trained workforce.

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