The Better Buildings Alliance is a DOE effort to promote energy efficiency in U.S. commercial buildings through collaboration with building leaders (owners, operators, and managers). Members of the Better Buildings Alliance commit to addressing energy efficiency needs in their buildings by setting energy savings goals and developing and sharing innovative and cost-effective solutions to advance energy efficiency. Alliance members partner with DOE technical experts to identify gaps and work needed to accelerate the adoption of greater energy efficiency.

The Better Buildings Alliance has grown to include more than 230 members, representing over 11 billion commercial square feet across five key market sectors: commercial real estate, healthcare, higher education, hospitality, and retail, food service, and grocery. Members agree to participate in at least one Alliance activity each year and share their successes with their peers, while DOE commits to connect members with technical resources and provide a platform for peer exchange. Members bring their powerful insights and industry experience in affiliation with DOE technical experts to develop and demonstrate innovative, cost-effective, and energy-saving technologies and market practices. Together, they catalyze innovation—releasing performance specifications and best practice guidelines for members to deploy.

As a cornerstone of President Obama's Climate Action Plan, the Better Buildings Alliance aims to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade. This means saving billions of dollars on energy bills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating thousands of jobs. Through the Better Buildings Alliance, public and private sector organizations across the country are working together to share and replicate positive gains in energy efficiency and catalyze change and investment in energy efficiency. Read more about Better Buildings partner results and the innovative solutions being shared with others in the Better Buildings Solution Center.

The DesignLights Consortium's (DLC) networked lighting controls program launched in 2015 and is designed to accelerate widespread implementation of lighting controls in commercial buildings and exterior environments by addressing market barriers to adoption. The organization’s continually expanding set of resources for lighting controls include the Networked Lighting Controls (NLC) Qualified Products List, which contains comprehensive information about NLCs from virtually every major manufacturer; an online and in-person installer training curriculum; a savings estimator tool; case studies; and research on energy savings data and interoperability of systems. The DLC controls initiative continues to expand and explore connected lighting as the gateway to the proliferation of smart buildings and cities.

The DLC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the widespread adoption of high-performing commercial lighting solutions. The DLC promotes high-quality, energy-efficient lighting products in collaboration with utilities and energy-efficiency program members; manufacturers; lighting designers; and federal, state, and local entities. Through these partnerships, the DLC establishes product quality specifications; facilitates thought leadership; and provides information, education, tools, and technical expertise.

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) is the recognized technical authority on illumination. The IES builds upon a century of excellence to create the premier lighting community dedicated to promoting the art and science of quality lighting to its members, allied professional organizations, the lighting community and the public. Its objective has been to communicate information on all aspects of quality lighting practice through various programs, publications, and services. IES is a forum for the exchange of ideas and information and a vehicle for its members' professional development and recognition. Through technical committees, with hundreds of qualified individuals from the lighting and user communities, IES correlates research, investigations, and discussions to guide lighting professionals and lay persons via consensus-based lighting recommendations. IES is almost 8,000 members strong. Its members work with lighting in various capacities—lighting designers, architects, interior designers, government and utility personnel, engineers, contractors, manufacturers, distributors, researchers and educators—throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and around the world.

The interNational Association of Lighting Management Companies (NALMCO) was the first organization in the lighting industry to create nationally recognized professional lighting management certifications. NALMCO members are equipped to help you implement lighting solutions that reduce overall maintenance costs, save energy and benefit the environment. NALMCO members can build relationships with more than 1,800 other lighting management professionals, specializing in different parts of the lighting industry. NALMCO offers educational and technical seminars throughout the year to equip members with new skills and information. NALMCO provides a connection between member and offers business tools for technology, best practices, management operations and much more.

The International Facility Management Association (IFMA) is the world’s largest and most widely recognized international association for professional facility managers, supporting over 22,655 members in 78 countries. The association’s members, represented in 127 chapters and 16 councils worldwide, manage more than 37 billion square feet of property and annually purchase more than U.S. $100 billion in products and services. The mission of the organization is to advance the facility management profession by providing exceptional services, products, resources and opportunities.

IFMA provides best-in-class education and research delivered through traditional channels and the latest technology. The association also prepares its members by keeping them up to date on business trends and future developments that will affect the built environment and their managerial decisions.

Facility management professionals have long been concerned with and engaged in the environmental aspects of the facilities they operate, especially from the perspective of energy conservation and high-performance buildings. The association promotes efficient and responsible use of the planet's finite resources in workplace applications and advocates that sustainable initiatives are also good for business. IFMA provides facility professionals with access to educational, informational and networking resources geared toward managing assets sustainably, either independently or with strategic partners.

For two decades, the Lighting Controls Association (LCA), a council of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), has educated the professional building design, construction, and management communities about lighting control technology, application, and benefits. Signature activities include a website and newsletter, sponsorship of a major award for controls application, Education Express system of free online courses, and publications, including the sponsorship of control-related publications by organizations such as the IES. Members include noted leaders in the manufacture of advanced controls and dimmable ballasts and drivers.

GSA's mission is to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to government and the American people. GSA delivers value and savings by using the purchasing power of the federal government to drive down prices, deliver better value, and reduce costs to its customer agencies. GSA values focus on integrity, transparency, and teamwork—with 11,495 full-time employees (June 2014) and a $24 billion budget (fiscal year 2014). GSA manages $500 billion of federal assets, including 9,600 federally owned or leased buildings, 205,000 federally owned or leased vehicles, and 471 historic properties. GSA is committed to a sustainable government that reduces energy and water use in federal buildings, responsibly disposes of electronic waste, and greens the federal fleet. GSA continues to work with businesses to make sustainable products and services readily available and affordable to its partner agencies. GSA has begun including life-cycle costs into its planning and decision making and is beginning the widespread implementation of innovative technologies and best practices from sources such as its Green Proving Ground program. GSA contributes through these efforts to the reduction of our government’s environmental and fiscal footprints.