Annual Report
2024-2025
Dear Friends and Supporters of the UW IDL,
Each year, as we share our annual report, we take the opportunity to reflect on our progress and highlight our successes. Those reading this are undoubtedly aware of the outsized impact that buildings have on energy consumption and carbon emissions. This year, we focus on our efforts to transform the existing building stock into healthier, high-performing, energy-efficient assets—for the region and beyond. This work reflects a long-term, generational commitment to maximizing the value of the built environment.
Our cover features the remarkable renovation of Renton High School’s science classrooms in Renton, WA—a 50-year-old Brutalist concrete building that was essential to the school’s mission but overdue for upgrades. Designed by Seattle’s Side x Side Architects, with IDL as daylighting and solar shading consultant, the building now offers improved comfort, natural light, energy performance, and—most importantly—a healthier, more productive learning environment.
To scale successes like Renton High School across the region, we recently partnered with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) and Molly McCabe, a nationally recognized leader in finance and sustainability, on a new initiative to accelerate the speed and depth of energy retrofits. This work aligns with the growing adoption of Building Performance Standards (BPS) at both regional and national levels. These standards create a tailwind of opportunity, enabling the development of pathways that improve building performance while increasing asset value.
As part of this effort, and in partnership with NEEA, we are supporting a a Whole Building Implementation program. It aims to develop clear, compelling strategies for implementing holistic energy improvements in the region’s most common building typologies as part of routine capital planning. It also aims to create innovative tools that help identify and leverage funding and financing mechanisms, demonstrate strong return-on-investment potential, and equip building operators and real estate professionals with the tools they need to make the business case for whole-building efficiency—both internally and externally.
Aligned with this effort is our Department of Energy-funded Building Training and Assessment Center (BTAC). In partnership with the University of Washington, South Seattle College, and Northwest Indian College, the BTAC is training the next generation of professionals capable of meeting the requirements of building performance standards while raising the bar for how existing buildings are operated. Over the next two years, we expect to certify more than 60 students across all three institutions in these essential skills.
We remain deeply grateful to the organizations that make our work possible: the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), BetterBricks, our Puget Sound utility partners, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), ARPA-E, the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IESNA), and our Advisory Board for their ongoing guidance and support.
– Christopher Meek and Heather Burpee
Read more in our 2024-2025 Annual Report