Using Data for Policy: A Manual for C40 Cities

Setting realistic and ambitious reduction targets for building energy consumption is not truly possible without using the power of data. Data is needed to identify both trends in energy consumption and cost-effective improvement opportunities aligning with broader targets of Paris compliant city climate action plans and Deadline 2020.
C40 is aiming to expand the knowledge and expertise in the fast-growing movement of data-driven policy making for city officials. Therefore, C40 in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has developed a detailed in-depth data manual on building energy data collection, methodologies, and analysis.
This manual provides a wide variety of best practices on energy efficiency policy making using different sources of data. C40 cities in the Private Building Efficiency (PBE) network and the Municipal Building Efficiency (MBE) network are the main target audience of this manual, but it is applicable to all local governments. City officials, policy advisors, energy efficiency program administrators, data analysts and other stakeholders will find specific information on 5 major topics as below:
1. Defining objectives and metrics
2. Data collection
3. Data cleansing
4. Data analysis
5. Communicating results 
On each topic two activities are covered as:
Process steps, i.e., basic guidance on how to conduct the activity.
Best practices, including actual examples from various cities.
The majority of the content is applicable to both private and municipal buildings – exceptions are clearly stated in the manual.
23 C40 cities from across the globe supported this work and provided references to their insightful Data for Policy programs. C40’s experience proves that cities achieve greater success if they work together. In Appendices A and B of the manual it is possible to assess the level of building energy data integration of your city.
Moreover, as C40 cities are in different implementation stages of innovative approaches to policy making using building energy data, depending on the city’s expectations, resources and ambitions this manual can be used for:
Primary group of cities, who want to begin the process of using data for policy, should focus mainly on process guidance and follow the chapters in sequence.
Mid-level cities that have already implemented some digital infrastructure for data collection might concentrate on particular aspects. For example, data cleansing process may require improvements, if data collection is already automated.
Advanced cities, which have experience and expertise of using data to create effective building energy policies might benefit from best practices provided, where several cities across both networks showcase their successful application of analysis results in ambitious actions plans. 

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Using Data for Policy: A Manual for C40 Cities

Sector: Buildings

Country / Region: France, Global

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Knowledge Object: Publication / Report

Published by: C40 Cities, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Publishing year: 2018

Author: C40 Cities, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory