Health Co-Benefits of the Built Environment

The Co-Benefits of the Built Environment (CoBE) tool is designed to help building owners, operators, investors, and others understand the environmental, health, and climate impacts of their buildings’ energy consumption. It offers an easy way to assess both current performance and potential future scenarios to help reduce negative impacts.The tool allows users to evaluate emissions (greenhouse gases and air pollutants), climate impacts, and public health outcomes based on the energy use of their buildings. After entering basic building data and energy consumption, users receive a footprint analysis, which includes emission estimates and compares these against climate policies. The tool can also simulate “what-if” scenarios by analyzing potential interventions or changes in energy use, providing insights into how different actions, such as upgrading to an all-electric HVAC system, could reduce energy consumption and improve building performance. This resource is particularly valuable for building professionals, as it enables evidence-based decision-making to reduce emissions and improve public health. By using CoBE, stakeholders can better understand the broad impacts of building energy use and the benefits of optimizing buildings using green building practice for climate and health benefits.