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Better Integrating Historic Buildings into Building Performance Standards

Thursday, May 14, 2026

2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET

Building Performance Standards (BPS) have emerged as a potent new policy to improve the energy/emissions performance of buildings. However, as a policy that impacts existing buildings, they raise important questions for historic buildings. The presentation will present a new policy toolkit that addresses how to effectively integrate historic buildings and historic preservation into BPS. Funded by the Fitch Foundation, the toolkit includes a survey of existing policies, an exploration of the preservation issues and a collection of model language that can be adapted to existing and new BPS.  The policy toolkit has the potential to influence the shape of this new sustainability policy in a way that protects and even benefits historic preservation goals at a key moment in the broader adoption of BPS in the policy landscape.
Come learn more about this important resource and how it could benefit your work.

Learning Objectives

  1. Discuss fundamentals of Building Performance Standards (BPS) and how they work. 

  2. Review how Building Performance Standards apply to historic buildings. 

  3. Describe how different Building Performance Standard features can be beneficial or detrimental for historic buildings.

  4. Examine how the energy efficiency goals of modern BPS policies align with the sustainability and carbon-storage values of historic preservation.

Continuing Education

1.5 LU/HSW/PDH CEU (pending)

Can't join the webinar live? A limited-access recording of this session will be available to those who register for the webinar. 

Please note: Accreditation guidelines dictate that CEU credit is only available to participants of the live sessions. Each session earns 1.5 LU/HSW/PDH Continuing Education Units. APT is an accredited provider with the AIA, RCEP, and the ICC.

Registration Fees

  • APT Members: $20
  • Emerging Professional Members: $15 $0*
  • Student Members: $10 $0*
  • Non-Members: $35

* Thanks to the generous support of the Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, APT is pleased to offer this program at no cost to Student members and Emerging Professional members. Not a member? Learn how to join here. 

Register

 

Presented by the Technical Committee on Codes and Standards

Speaker:

Sean Denniston, Principal, Heritage Green Consulting

Sean is the principal of Heritage Green Consulting, a preservation consultancy working at the intersection of historic preservation and sustainability. He brings particular attention to how sustainability policies impact the preservation of historic buildings and how to craft these policies to limit harm and even benefit historic buildings. His work at Heritage Green is built on a career at the forefront of sustainability and decarbonization codes and policy. He was formerly an Associate Director at New Buildings Institute where he was the subject matter expert on existing buildings for NBI’s work in energy codes, decarbonization policy and building performance standards. 

He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture with a minor in Architectural History at the University of Oregon and a Master’s Degree in Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania. 

 

This project has been funded in part by a grant from the National Trust Preservation Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Specifically, in support of growing participation of students and emerging professionals in online programs.