Energy & Materials
About the Energy Council
StopWaste is the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling, Board and the Energy Council operating as one public agency.
Much of StopWaste's work in the built environment sector is carried out by the Energy Council, which secures funding to implement sustainable energy strategies on behalf of the 15 jurisdictions in Alameda County.
In the United States, buildings account for approximately one third of raw material use, total energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste generation, as well as 12% of potable water consumption.
As part of StopWaste's mission to increase recycling and reduce waste in Alameda County, we develop innovative solutions to address the environmental impacts of the building sector.
Our priorities include:
- Multifamily buildings
- Green building codes, standards and rating systems
- Local government policy and technical assistance
- Materials-climate nexus
- Low Carbon Concrete Code
Our partners include:
- StopWaste's 15 member agencies
- Regional energy collaboratives such as BayREN and East Bay Energy Watch
- Federal energy program administrators and funders such as U.S. DOE
- Community choice aggregators such as East Bay Community Energy
- State and regional energy and water utilities and regulators
- Green building codes, standards and rating organizations
Featured Reports of Regenerative Material Use in the Built Environment
This report, prepared by Arup and StopWaste, explores the potential of various biogenic building materials that can be used in industrialized construction to support low carbon and circular economy solutions in the buildings sector. The research focuses on renewable plant-based materials that sequester and store carbon and can biodegrade back into the earth.
StopWaste partnered with Healthy Building Network and the San Francisco Department of the Environment to investigate ways to enhance the quality of post-consumer recycled-content raw materials (or “feedstock”) used in the manufacturing of building products. A series of reports summarize our findings and recommendations for optimizing recycled-content feedstocks in order to increase product value, marketability and safety.