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For years, the Building Performance Institute (BPI) has grown a national network of training affiliate organizations offering turnkey training, professional certification for individuals, company accreditation and quality assurance protocols for the home performance contracting industry.
A recognized leader in the sustainable building movement, the institute boasts more followers today than ever before: their network has grown by more than 35 percent so far in 2009, from 70 to 95. Another 21 organizations are ready to sign affiliate agreements, and an additional 87 organizations are in the process of becoming training affiliates.
If all are successfully integrated into the network, BPI expects to have 203 affiliates by the end of 2009, an increase of almost 300 percent over 12 months.
Says David Hepinstall, chairman of the BPI Board of Directors, "Training and certification are key steps in building a strong, highly-skilled and professionalized home performance workforce."
In light of current political, economic and environmental circumstances, the growth of a "greener" building workforce is especially pertinent. Stimulus funds earmarked for weatherization and energy efficiency retrofits will require scores of qualified, expert contractors to implement $8 billion worth of house-as-a-system assessments, diagnostics and improvements nationwide. The American Clean Energy and Security Act, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, calls for a Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance program as part of a greater strategy to incentivize reductions in energy consumption.
And then there are the hard facts: recent reports such as McKinsey & Company's "Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the U.S. Economy" cite the building industry's enormous potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the McKinsey report also identifies a lack of trained and skilled contractors as a major barrier to unlocking the energy efficiency potential of the residential sector, while referencing BPI as a potential solution to the workforce shortage barrier.
For BPI, the timing couldn't be better. Says Larry Zarker, CEO of BPI, "The continued and growing interest in the sustainable building movement is giving rise to new opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes. The ramp up of several weatherization and incentive programs has created an urgent need to expand the home performance workforce. The growth of the network of BPI training affiliate organizations is allowing us to reach more people, in more places and teach them the fundamentals of performing house-as-a-system assessments, diagnostics and improvements."
And the quality and type of training BPI affiliates receive meet energy efficiency goals to a "t". "The house-as-a-system approach to home performance retrofit work supported by BPI is proven to reduce homeowner annual utility bills by as much as 20 percent or more," says Brian T. Castelli, executive vice president, Programs and Development for the Alliance to Save Energy, who was also elected as Vice-Chair of the BPI Board of Directors in August. "BPI's activities make a significant contribution to our mission."
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