IMT & NRDC Team up for Transparency

It seems to be "all the rage" these days, the notion of full transparency.  With burgeoning of networking and social media it's pretty hard to keep anything secret for long.  Transparency can certainly present challenges to many, not the least of which are businesses but overall there are many benefits to the general public.
 
Many in the energy rating and green building industry seem to agree.  Not only is there consensus that buildings should have energy ratings to determine how efficient--or not--they are and what can be done to improve that efficiency but there is growing support for disclosing the energy ratings of buildings.  The advantage many see is that consumers can make smarter choices in real estate purchases by knowing the energy score of buildings.  The idea is similar to that of the MPG sticker on new cars.
 
Enter the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC).  IMT is a DC-based non-profit that supports energy efficiency, green building and environmental protection.  The NRDC is a well-known non-profit consortium of scientists, lawyers, activists and grass-roots members who's primary goal is protecting the environment and natural resources.  Together they have formed BuildingRating.org, "an online library of building energy performance rating and disclosure resources, including information on policies, programs, impact analyses, and rating systems and tools. This first-of-its-kind project was launched in early 2011 to facilitate the sharing of global intelligence and best practices."
 
At BuildingRating.org you can search for documents on rating systems and what's happening with them; find maps and location information for states and cities that either have adopted policy around rating disclosure or are considering such policy; peruse studies on rating and value from around the world; and more.  Between the BuildingRating.org blog, the article archive and their press room you'll be able to keep up-to-date on the latest in rating and disclosure practices.