Market Structure and Energy Efficiency: The Case of New Commercial Buildings

This is a report on why commercial office buildings aren’t more energy efficient. Several decades of energy efficiency programs have resulted in some gains, but overall increases in the energy efficiency of buildings have fallen far short of the 30 to 50 percent improvement that many efficiency advocates believe is possible. The purpose of this study is to consider the “why” question by empirically examining the dynamics of new commercial building markets. To do so, the authors used multiple research techniques, including qualitative field observation and interview methods that allow for a more in-depth understanding of complicated market processes. Their research focused primarily on new office buildings and centered in four regional markets: Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland. The authors identify key dynamics of commercial office building markets, describe how change and innovation occurs in commercial development, discuss the implications for energy efficiency, and suggest next steps

Affaires de famille

Family Businesses Domestic sales organizations (DSOs), which are strongly developed in the United States, generally achieve a high level of economic efficiency, using methods that are often contrary to the traditional bureaucratic logic. This article analyses the organization of these very special businesses. Inspired by charismatic leaders, they recruit salespersons (often female "presenters") who are attracted by the idea of making money but also convinced that retailing is a way of achieving a superior lifestyle, which combines political values with religious beliefs, and of enabling them to participate in a community brought together around the same world view. DSOs manage to set up networks of salespersons motivated by entrepreneurial ideals and a will to succeed, while avoiding competitiveness between them. This is achieved by means of a mode of recruitment and organization which simultaneously is based on networks of sponsorship, uses existing family connections, and sets up relationships among salespersons by integrating them into metaphorical families.Affaires de famille Très développées aux Etats-Unis, les sociétés de vente à domicile (DSO) parviennent généralement à un haut degré d'efficacité économique tout en utilisant des principes souvent opposés à la logique bureaucratique traditionnelle. Cet article analyse l'organisation de ces entreprises très particulières qui, sous l'impulsion d'un leader charismatique, recrutent des vendeurs (souvent des "présentatrices") attirés par la perspective de gagner de l'argent mais aussi convaincus que le travail de vente est une manière de réaliser un mode de vie supérieur intégrant valeurs politiques traditionnelles et croyances religieuses et de permettre la participation à une communauté rassemblée autour d'une même vision du monde. Les DSO parviennent à constituer des réseaux de vendeurs animés par l'esprit d'entreprise et le goût de la réussite tout en leur évitant les rapports de concurrence, cela grâce à un système de profit soigneusement étudié et grâce à un mode de recrutement et d'organisation qui, à la fois, repose sur des lignées de parrainage, utilise les liens familiaux existant entre les vendeurs et crée de nouvelles relations entre eux en les intégrant dans des familles métaphoriques.Biggart Nicole W. Affaires de famille . In: Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales. Vol. 94, septembre 1992. Économie et morale. pp. 27-40

Creating West Village, a zero net energy community on the campus of UC Davis

You have been engaged for the last few years in developing West Village, a Zero Net Energy community on the campus of University of California – Davis (UC Davis). What are you trying to achieve in this project? Energy used in buildings has now exceeded the energy used by vehicles, so if we are going to cap greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with energy use, we need to control how our energy is used in buildings. That is a very powerful mission, to which I want to contribute. I am invol..

Market Structure and Energy Efficiency:The Case of New Commercial Buildings

Why aren’t commercial office buildings more energy efficient? Several decades of energy efficiency programs have resulted in some gains, but overall increases in the energy efficiency of buildings have fallen far short of the 30 to 50 percent improvement that many efficiency advocates believe is possible (DOE 2000).The purpose of our research has been to consider this “why” question by empirically examining the dynamics of new commercial building markets. Our intent is not to provide prescriptive or programmatic answers, but rather to develop knowledge about the market sufficient to support strategic interventions in it.Traditionally, energy efficiency research and development (R&D) and demand-side-management (DSM) programs aimed to modify new buildings by encouraging the adoption of better technologies or improved design. Programs were based on a rather simple understanding of the market. Attention centered on building designers (architects and engineers) as key decision-makers in the adoption of more energy efficient technologies and system designs in buildings. The implicit model of the market was inhabited largely by building owners and designers who were assumed to have a great deal of autonomy from outside influence and their social networks when making decisions regarding energy and efficiency. This model overlooked many of the realities of the broader development process.Recent interest in market transformation (MT) has spawned efforts to provide improved models that better reflect market barriers and opportunities for energy efficiency. However, the MT approach still sees the market largely through the lensof energy efficiency—a lens that focuses on a narrow set of concerns. Our current research takes a much broader view. We are interested in establishing a real-world context for energy efficiency by providing a more accurate understanding of how newcommercial building markets actually work.To do so, we have used multiple research techniques, including qualitative field observation and interview methods that allow for a more in-depth understandingof complicated market processes. Our research has focused primarily on new office buildings and has been centered in four regional markets: Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland. Our findings, summarized below, identify key dynamics of commercial office building markets, describe how change and innovation occurs in commercial development, discuss the implications for energy efficiency, and suggest next steps

Market Structure and Energy Efficiency: The Case of New Commercial Buildings

This is a report on why commercial office buildings aren’t more energy efficient. Several decades of energy efficiency programs have resulted in some gains, but overall increases in the energy efficiency of buildings have fallen far short of the 30 to 50 percent improvement that many efficiency advocates believe is possible. The purpose of this study is to consider the “why” question by empirically examining the dynamics of new commercial building markets. To do so, the authors used multiple research techniques, including qualitative field observation and interview methods that allow for a more in-depth understanding of complicated market processes. Their research focused primarily on new office buildings and centered in four regional markets: Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland. The authors identify key dynamics of commercial office building markets, describe how change and innovation occurs in commercial development, discuss the implications for energy efficiency, and suggest next steps