• Green Building Alliance
• Products Initiative

Programs

• DASH
  • Background
• Green Schools Academy
• Knowledge Network
• Pittsburgh 2030 District
• Past Programs

DASH (Database for Analyzing Sustainable and High Performance Buildings) is GBA's web-based software program that seeks to improve evidence-based decision-making in the high performance building marketplace. DASH's aim is to develop a comprehensive national repository of triple bottom line building performance data and facilitate reporting and analysis based on that information. Users will be able to compare, analyze, and benchmark their buildings and properties to make informed decisions about energy efficiency, occupant health, and overall building performance.

Goals
The goals of GBA’s DASH: Database for Analyzing Sustainable and High Performance Buildings project are to:

• Develop a comprehensive national repository of building performance data;
• Enable the consistent collection of quantitative data about green, sustainable, and high performance buildings; and
• Facilitate reporting and analysis based on this data.

Since 2004, GBA’s DASH project has been a national conversation and volunteer effort. DASH’s objective is to provide building industry professionals with measured building performance information to enable better decision-making about building design, construction, operation, and maintenance. DASH will populate itself through collaboration with existing building information sources, as well as through the direct contributions of small and large property owners, managers, companies, organizations, and researchers.

By providing improved decision-making tools, DASH will improve evidence-based decision-making in the green building marketplace. Achievement of this goal has multiple steps, including development of common metrics and reporting protocols, direct data input through a web interface, backend integration of data that already exists (and is regularly updated) in partner data repositories, plus robust and easy-to-use query and reporting tools.

DASH Mission & Scope
Through DASH, GBA works to facilitate the consistent collection of measurable data about green, sustainable, and high performance buildings through collaboration of existing building information databases, organizations, companies, and researchers.

The scope of DASH includes increasing the quantity of, quality of, and access to information about green, sustainable, and high performance buildings by creating a building metric information clearinghouse, identifying gaps in currently collected building data, developing consistent protocols for data collection and reporting, and establishing a national green, sustainable, and high performance building data repository that will support independent assessment and analysis of investment, operation, and occupant-related building metrics.

Audience
Future DASH subscribers will be from the following building industries:

• Real Property Industry - Decision makers, developers, investors, owners, property management firms, facility managers, & owner/operators
• Consultants, Services, & Products - Architects, engineers, contractors, specifiers, facility managers, product/technology developers, & energy groups
• Researchers & Analysts - Colleges, universities, nonprofits, & government agencies

 

Want to Know More?
DASH is currently in development and not yet available for subscription.  If you’re interested in learning more about DASH or being an early subscriber, please email your contact information to dash@gbapgh.org.

Watch DASH take shape at www,dashbuildings.com

DASH in the News

• 2012
• Report: For Better Buildings, We Need Better Data (Paula Melton, BuildingGreen, January 1, 2012)
• 2011
• Data Needs for Achieving High-Performance Buildings (National Institute of Building Sciences, High-Performance Building Data Collection Initiative)
• No more CBECS…Now what? (Maggie Gulick,  New Buildings Institute, June 14, 2011)