Voluntary Programs for Low-Carbon Building Development and Transformation : Lessons From the United States

Traditional regulatory interventions such as building codes and planning legislation often fall short in accelerating the transition towards sustainable built environments. Seeking to overcome their problems governments around the globe are increasingly relying on governance innovations, as do firms and civil society organizations. These innovative governance instruments often seek compliance through positive incentives rather than deterrence, and voluntary participation rather than mandatory subjection. The opportunities and constraints of these voluntary programs for urban sustainability have been more theorized than studied empirically. Seeking to increase knowledge on their performance this chapter draws lessons from an empirical study of eight such programs for commercial and residential buildings in the United States