Guide to Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ Certification

Congratulations on your decision to pursue IREE Certification for your building decarbonization project!

By choosing to pursue IREE certification you are demonstrating that your project has followed the Investor Confidence Project (ICP) Protocols and that it is an energy efficiency project that is investment-ready. 

This eight-step guide will lead you through the process. For detailed information on the certification process download the free Guide to IREE Certification. If you need assistance at any time, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

1. TRAINING
​Take the IREE Training and get certified as an ICP Project Developer. This online training gives you what you need to know to apply ICP protocols correctly with the least transaction costs.​

2. DEVELOP PROJECT
Develop an energy efficiency project according to the requirements in the ICP Protocols. The development team must include a project engineer with a minimum of five years of relevant experience who is either a licensed Professional Engineer under a nationally recognized authority, an Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Certified Energy Manager (CEM), or holds an equivalent license. Relevant experience includes building energy auditing, commissioning, energy simulation, and measurement and verification. ​

​3. CHOOSE AN ICP QUALITY ASSURANCE ASSESSOR
Select and contract with an independent third-party, approved Quality Assurance (QA) Assessor who will assess your project for compliance with ICP protocols. Check with your investor as they may have QAA requirements. Work with the QAA to determine the correct protocol and QA process.

4. Register
Register your project and then a confirmation will be sent from GBCI with a request to submit registration payment.​

5. APPLY
Submit project documentation for review by the Quality Assurance Assessor. ​

6. REVIEW
Quality Assurance Assessor reviews documentation for compliance with ICP Protocols and provides feedback to the project development team. QAA signs the ICP Checklist and provides detailed notes as to any protocol modifications or relevant information about the project.​

7. GBCI QUALITY ASSESSMENT AND CERTIFICATION
Your Quality Assurance Assessor provides the certification recommendation to GBCI; remember IREE certification fees must be remitted to GBCI before the project is submitted to GBCI for final certification. Once the project passes final GBCI quality assessment, congratulations it is Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ certified! 

Stakeholders can now make investment decisions with increased confidence based on your project earning IREE certification. ​

8. POST CERTIFICATION AND PERFORMANCE REPORTING
After the project is certified and implemented, energy performance is measured and verified according to ICP protocols. Project teams and owners can continue to track and report your energy performance using the Yearly Performance Update form throughout the project's performance period