Mary Thomas
Director,
Building Innovation Hub
I am thrilled to be starting my first new year as the Building Innovation Hub’s director. Over the past few months, I have spoken to many of you about what has worked, what hasn’t, and how we can collaborate going forward. The result has been an immensely valuable period of reflection, as well as an opportunity to plan for the future. Based on these conversations, here’s how I think about the Hub in 2026:
- The Hub is about the DC metropolitan region, not just the District. We grew out of funding from the District’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), and we have the most content about District regulations, but we have always worked to be a regional hub for information and connection. In 2025, we made significant inroads into serving Maryland audiences by partnering with Maryland Energy Administration’s Clean Buildings Hub, among others. We held office hours over the summer and reached more than 200 registrants with our Fall webinar on Maryland’s new benchmarking rules. We have also updated our Regulation Basics webpage with key links on complying with relevant Maryland and Montgomery County building performance requirements. We continue to build partnerships in Virginia as well.
- The region is facing critical building performance deadlines this year. The DC BEPS Compliance Cycle ends on December 31, 2026 which means buildings have less than one year left to demonstrate energy savings. DOEE will use this year’s benchmarking data, which will be submitted in 2027, to determine compliance with the standard. While the data show that buildings have been reducing energy over time, it’s not too late to take action if you have not done so already. Another 2026 milestone in DC is that smaller buildings, those 10,000 square feet and up, will be submitting their benchmarking data to DOEE for the first time on May 1. In Maryland, buildings started benchmarking last year, and this year their benchmarking data due on June 1 will need to be verified by a third-party. The Hub is here to help thousands of buildings navigate upcoming deadlines this year.
- We are focusing on under-resourced and community priority buildings. Our greatest value will be in closing the knowledge and resource gaps for buildings that might otherwise struggle with compliance or miss opportunities for building performance improvements. With building performance requirements in the region now covering more and smaller buildings, we know these audiences are harder to reach, and we will be working through our network to get the word out. We welcome your wisdom and assistance. Stay tuned for an announcement about a new, related project!
- We continue to improve vendor matchmaking opportunities to support the local economy and accelerate building performance improvement projects in the area. We are streamlining the process, making more sophisticated matches and enabling quicker turnarounds to move projects forward. We are also adding guidance for owners and managers on selection criteria, as well as local training opportunities for vendors to enhance their qualifications. We expect to share an updated Vendor Matchmaking portal by the end of the second quarter. We are continuing to recruit more small local businesses to our database and engage building owners and managers to bring in more opportunities for work.
- We are offering a more flexible membership model to better serve our community. Our Hub Members are critical to our outreach to buildings and businesses, and to making high-performing buildings a new normal in our region. Our new model allows members to gain valuable market exposure, keep staff informed of updated regulations, and choose which of our offerings best fit their needs. We encourage businesses and governments to take a look and to join!
In addition to these big focus areas, we will continue to support compliance with evolving local regulations, including planned updates to DOEE’s BEPS Guidebook, as well as provide case studies of how to make improvements possible, and facilitate connections to funding and financing. We plan to host two events this year, one during DC Climate Week and one this Fall. These help us connect in person to share ideas and build our personal networks. Let us know if you would like us to join your events or to partner with us on any of the items above!