About Us
BE-Ex STL Mission
To advance building energy performance by mobilizing the professional expertise, funding, and technical resources the real estate industry needs to address affordability, improve the health and comfort of residents, and position St. Louis as a resilient and carbon neutral region.
The greenest buildings are those already built
St. Louis has a huge stock of “green” already-built buildings. Still, studies show that our buildings are less efficient than the national average – a huge opportunity for improving the cost of living, financial burden of building ownership and health and wellness of our community.
The Building Energy Exchange St. Louis is here to help make energy efficiency a reality in our built environment.
BE-Ex STL Backstory
Greenhouse gasses are driving major shifts in the climate of our earth. In the City of St. Louis, residential, commercial and industrial buildings account for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions – both day to day operations and during the design and construction. Reduction in consumption of energy in our buildings represents a tremendous opportunity to reduce emissions, save money, create jobs and protect public health.
St. Louis jumped to the forefront of sustainability by passing and signing into law critical regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS). This landmark policy - just the fourth of its kind in the US and the first in the Midwest - put the City of St. Louis at the center of advancing policy to address energy efficiency and will help make St. Louis a climate ready and carbon neutral region.
Building Energy Exchange St. Louis (BE-Ex STL) was borne out of a desire to help building owners comply with BEPS and to serve as a regional resource to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
BE-Ex STL is administered by USGBC-Missouri Gateway Chapter and has launched with foundational support from Washington University, Ameren Missouri, Spire, the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, NRDC, and other key partners locally and nationally. We are working in collaboration with other programs throughout the United States including Building Energy Exchange: a center of excellence in NY and one of the first hubs of energy efficiency resources in the US, Institute for Market Transformation and the Building Innovation Hub in DC and will be launching alongside the Building Energy Exchange Kansas City.
BE-Ex STL Leadership
Malachi Rein
Director
Rein joined BE-Ex STL in September 2022. He has a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from Missouri S&T and an A.A. in Communications from St. Louis Community College. He brings experience in facilities management, operations, and project management.
Rein has a passion for creating a more sustainable built environment. He is a LEED AP BD+C and holds certifications through GPRO Operations and Maintenance Essentials and Building Operator Level 1. A lifelong resident of the Saint Louis region, he firmly believes that our buildings matter and that we can empower positive change that impacts our balance with our planet and the lives of real people.
BE-Ex STL Board
The BE-Ex STL board of directors is made up of a diverse set of leaders representing many areas of expertise in energy efficiency, development, and sustainability. This board will shape our strategic direction and our areas of focus.
Founding Partners
The Building Energy Exchange (BE-Ex), located in New York City, serves the building industry as a resource and trusted expert. In their first decade they delivered over 1,000 educational programs to more than 30,000 visitors, alongside hundreds of reports, exhibits, and tools. BE-Ex, alongside the Institute for Market Transformation, supports the development of resource hubs across the globe dedicated to reducing the effects of climate change by improving the built environment. Launched in spring 2022, Building Energy Exchange Kansas City and Building Energy Exchange St. Louis will serve their respective regions with customized resources that cater to the needs of their communities while benefitting from the existing resources and expertise of New York’s Building Energy Exchange.
For more than 25 years, IMT has partnered with government, business, and philanthropy to improve the spaces where we live, work, and play. IMT focuses on innovative and pragmatic solutions that fuel greater investment in high-performing, energy-efficient buildings. IMT offers hands-on technical assistance and market research, alongside expertise in policy and program development, deployment and promotion of best practices, as well as knowledge exchange. Our innovations have helped reduce carbon emissions and energy costs across billions of square feet of real estate in major U.S. cities; empowering landlords and tenants to overcome barriers to mutually-beneficial building improvements; and increased overall demand for better buildings.
Building Energy Exchange STL is a project of the USGBC – Missouri Gateway Green Building Council, a community of members, advocates and practitioners that gives voice to our commitment to improve human health, support economies and protect the environment through green building education and outreach. USGBC-MO Gateway GBC has been the City’s education partner on benchmarking and BEPS since 2017 and will serve as the fiscal sponsor for BE-Ex STL.