Green Pays Its Way— Performance-Based Fees

The document details how performance-based fees (PBF) were used at North Clackamas High School to align the financial incentives of architects and engineers with the goal of reducing energy costs. By linking compensation to actual energy savings, the project achieved energy performance 44 percent better than the Oregon Energy Building Code. The case study also highlights the broader benefits of green school design, such as improved student performance through daylighting, and mentions RMI's similar initiatives in Curitiba, Brazil.

• Performance-based fees (PBF) link a portion of the compensation for architects and engineers to the energy savings achieved through high-efficiency designs, providing a financial incentive to reduce the use of electricity, natural gas, and liquid fuels.
• North Clackamas High School is expected to save between $75,000 and $80,000 annually on energy bills, with total energy savings projected to be 44 percent better than the requirements of the Oregon Energy Building Code.
• The design of North Clackamas High School utilized specific strategies to reduce energy use, including an east-west axis for optimal lighting and ventilation, high-performance glass, and the use of recycled materials like rubber flooring and acoustical tiles.
• A DOE-2 computer energy model for the school predicts specific energy savings over typical designs: 275,000 kWh in lighting, 315,000 kWh in fans and pumps, 150,000 kWh in cooling, and approximately 27,000 therms in heating.
• Research indicates that daylighting in classrooms can significantly improve student academic performance; in one district, students in well-lit classrooms progressed 20 percent faster in math and 26 percent faster in reading compared to those in poor lighting.
• RMI is collaborating with officials in Curitiba, Brazil, to develop a model school designed to use 75 percent less energy than current designs, which will serve as a prototype for Brazilian federal government schools.
• The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that U.S. schools spend over $6 billion annually on energy, and that $1.5 billion (25 percent) could be saved through improved building design and energy-efficient technologies.

APA

Burns, C. M., & Eubank, H. (2002). Green Pays Its Way— Performance-Based Fees. RMI. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_performance-based-fees_a-case-study.pdf

Chicago

Burns, Cameron M., and Huston Eubank. Green Pays Its Way— Performance-Based Fees. RMI, 2002. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_performance-based-fees_a-case-study.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Burns |first1=Cameron M. |last2=Eubank |first2=Huston |title=Green Pays Its Way— Performance-Based Fees |publisher=RMI |date=July 2002 |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_performance-based-fees_a-case-study.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{burns2002green, author = {Burns, Cameron M. and Eubank, Huston}, title = {{Green Pays Its Way— Performance-Based Fees}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2002}, month = jul, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_performance-based-fees_a-case-study.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }