IREE™ certification for building decarbonization, energy efficiency, and electrification projects

IREE™ certifies building decarbonization, energy efficiency, and electrification retrofit projects that conform to the requirements of the ICP Protocols, have been reviewed by ICP Quality Assurance Assessors, and have received IREE™ certification.  

In order to be IREE certified, project developers must first select the appropriate protocol for their project, in coordination with their Quality Assurance Provider, and then follow all the procedural and documentation requirements associated with each stage of the ICP Protocols (baselining energy usage; savings calculations; design, construction, and verification; operations, monitoring and maintenance; and measurement and verification). Details of all requirements are specified in the ICP Protocols with additional details, instruction, and resources provided in the ICP Project Development Specification.

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ICP Protocols

The core of the ICP methodology are the ICP Protocols that define a standardized road map of best practices for originating energy retrofits.  The ICP Protocols leverage existing and commonly accepted standards such as ASTM-BEPA, ASHRAE Guideline 14, and EVO-IPMVP in conjunction with ICP specified elements, procedures, and documentation based on the various stages of a project life-cycle to create standardized projects with reliable returns.

There are eight protocols which cover the majority of commercial energy efficiency projects.  Protocol selection is based on building type (Commercial and Multifamily) and on project size and complexity including Basic / Performance, Targeted, Standard, and Large - spanning single measures to whole building deep retrofit. Click the links below to visit each protocol and the image on the right for an overview of the primary standards being leveraged.

Large Commercial

• Whole building
  
• > $1M project costs
  
• Savings > 15% energy 
  

Large Multifamily

• Whole building
• > $1M project costs
• Savings > 15% energy 

Standard Commercial

• Whole building
  
• < $1M project costs

Standard Multifamily

• Whole building
  
• < $1M project costs

Targeted Commercial

• One or a few ECMs
  
• Limited interactivity
  
• < $1M project cost
  

Targeted Multifamily

• One or a few ECMs
• Limited interactivity
• < $1M project cost

Basic / Performance 

• Single ECMs (0r)
• 3rd party performance (ESAs, P4P)

Basic / Performance 

• Single ECMs (0r)
• 3rd party performance (ESAs, P4P)

Project Development Specification

The ICP Project Development Specification (PD Spec) brings the many complex details of an energy efficiency project into focus, providing a clear direction to the entire team with regards to requirements, tools, expectations, and quality management. The Project Development Specification provides a clear roadmap for Project Developers to correctly implement each requirement based on current best practices and available resources.  

Use of the Project Development Specification is easy.  It is linked to all of the ICP Protocols to directs users to the relevant section of the Specification and explain exactly what is required. When preparing a project using the protocols as your guide, developers can easily jump from whatever protocol you are using directly to the appropriate section of the PD Spec to find out in detail what is required.

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The ICP System

The ICP System combines the use of the ICP Protocols, existing industry certifications, and third party verification to create IREE™ projects that provide investors, building owners, and all project stakeholders with a new level of confidence in project engineering, predicted energy savings, and associated financial returns.  IREE projects are akin to audited financials and other industry workflows that have paved the way towards securitization and classification by ratings agencies.

Quality Assurance Assessors

ICP Quality Assurance (QA) Assessors are an integral part of the creation of IREE projects and the associated increase in confidence by all project stakeholders.  A key requirement for certification is that IREE projects must be reviewed by ICP QA Assessors.  ICP QA Assessors must be trained on every requirement of IREE certification, possess industry credentials and extensive experience, and be independent to the transaction.  These requirements ensure that projects are objectively verified to conform to the ICP Protocols and therefore can be depended meet ICP's project quality standards. 

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IREE Certification by GBCI

The last step in the process is to submit successfully reviewed projects to GBCI for certification.  The first step is to submit the project in the ICP IREE Project registration form.  GBCI will process the project which might be subject to additional project quality control processes prior to certification.  Upon certification, GBCI will issue ICP IREE Certification brand fulfillment to the project team.