Eric Mackres

Senior Manager, Data and Tools, Urban Efficiency & Climate, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

Bio

Eric is the Data and Tools Manager for Urban Efficiency & Climate at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. He helps cities obtain the information and stakeholder agreement they need to develop and implement broadly beneficial strategies to optimize, electrify and decarbonize their energy systems. He also coordinates data strategy across the Center and acts as the Cities data liaison to WRI’s Resource Watch, Energy and Climate programs.

Eric manages technical and use case development of globally relevant methods, tools and datasets on energy performance and urban form characteristics of cities. His projects include AI-driven mapping of the heat and resilience aspects of urban surfaces, methods to develop “quick start” city energy and emissions inventories, scenario modeling to support locally beneficial plans for city transitions to 100% clean energy, and computer vision-based urban land use modeling.

Prior to his current position, Eric was Building Efficiency Manager at WRI Ross Center. He continues to support the Buildings Initiative team, including as liaison to many of the Building Efficiency Accelerator deep dive city engagements and on the use of data and tools in city strategies to improve building performance. He has helped WRI develop global projects and partnerships with dozens of cities on energy efficiency, including in Colombia, India, Mexico and Turkey.

From 2010-2015, Eric worked at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), where he led an initiative focused on community-based, local government implementation of energy efficiency strategies in the United States. He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen publications on energy policy, urban energy systems and community development. Eric also has experience in affordable housing policy and environmental campaign organizing. He is on the board of Emerald Cities Collaborative, a national non-profit focused on a “high-road” transition to the green economy in the U.S.

Eric holds a Master of City Planning and Environmental Planning Certificate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning and a B.A. in Political Science, Public Policy, and Environmental Studies from Albion College.

Eric grew up in Michigan. He enjoys learning, design, exploring new places and being outdoors (in both natural and urban environments). Eric and his spouse live in Seattle, where they moved in 2019 after nine years in the District of Columbia.

Blogs

INSIDER: How Land Use Paints a Clearer Picture of Urban Life
by Caitlin Kontgis, Peter Kerins and Eric Mackres - February 09, 2021
Mapping urban land use over time can show what, where and when changes are happening, answering pressing questions about urban living. WRI, with support from the National Geographic Society, has developed methods and infrastructure to map urban land use in any city, providing a new tool to help cities manage their resources and improve quality of life.
3 Hurdles to Racial Justice in Clean Energy – and 3 Ways U.S. Cities Can Overcome Them
by Ted Wong, Lacey Shaver, Eric Mackres and Yeou-Rong Jih - September 02, 2020
For years, city governments in the United States have taken the lead on committing to climate action. More recently, many cities have also stepped up to addressing the related issue of structural racism. Will these ambitious goals translate into ambitious action?
Insights from Big Data on How COVID-19 Is Changing Society
by Eric Mackres - May 28, 2020
Big data on mobility, emissions and more can help us not only understand the coronavirus crisis and get back to normal, but create a new, better normal.
Will Mexico Rise to the Zero-carbon Buildings Challenge?
by Eric Mackres and Fairuz Loutfi - March 03, 2020
Mexico’s leadership and influence can set the course for a broader ZCB movement toward net-zero-carbon buildings in Latin America.
6 Lessons on Energy Decarbonization from Countries Leading the Way
by Eric Mackres - January 22, 2020
While very few countries are on track for achieving a zero-carbon energy system by 2050, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ethiopia and the United Kingdom are further along than many.
In Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal, Off-Grid Renewables Bring Power to Remote Villages
by Anila Qehaja, Dimitrios Mentis and Eric Mackres - February 06, 2019
In 10 years, the percent of Bhutan's population with access to electricity rose from 61 percent to 100 percent, even in the most remote mountain villages. Off-grid renewables were a big reason why.
Optimize, Electrify, Decarbonize: The 3 Steps to Thriving, Zero-Carbon Cities
by Emma Stewart and Eric Mackres - February 04, 2019
The benefits to zero-carbon cities—clean air, green jobs, energy savings, reduced climate impact—are immense. Here's a manifesto for achieving them.
Can Housing Be Affordable Without Being Efficient?
by Catalina Demidchuk, Eric Mackres and Henrique Evers - September 06, 2018
Any construction, especially affordable housing, that does not include efficiency standards is neglecting the needs of families in those homes. Yet inefficient housing is still all too common.
A Global Greening: Green Building Certification Programs Make Gains
by Shengyin Xu, Shannon Hilsey Choy and Eric Mackres - August 14, 2017
When WRI's recent global office renovation earned LEED Silver certification, it joined more than 38,000 LEED projects that are reducing carbon emissions and improving building efficiency worldwide. As standards for greener construction are incorporated into national and local building codes, they are raising the bar for the future.
How to Attract Private Investment to Energy-Efficient Buildings? Follow the 5 “S’s”
by Eric Mackres, Daniel Melling and Debbie Weyl - May 18, 2017
A field guide for policymakers looking to attract private investment in building efficiency.

Publications

Mapping Urban Land Use in India and Mexico using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning
This technical note describes the data sources and methodology underpinning a computer system for the automated generation of land use/land cover maps of urban areas at continental scale.

by Peter Kerins, Brook Guzder-Williams, Eric Mackres, Taufiq Rashid and Eric Pietraszkiewicz - February 2021

publication
Topics: WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
Geography: India, Mexico
Spatial Characterization of Urban Land Use through Machine Learning
This technical note describes the data sources and methodology underpinning a computer system for the automated generation of land use/land cover maps of urban areas.

by Peter Kerins, Emily Nilson, Eric Mackres, Taufiq Rashid, Brook Guzder-Williams and Steven Brumby - June 2020

publication
Accelerating Building Decarbonization: Eight Attainable Policy Pathways to Net Zero Carbon Buildings For All
Buildings that emit no greenhouse gas emissions during their operation are vital to meeting the SDGs and Paris Agreement targets. But in the past, zero carbon buildings have been assumed to be only attainable by technologically advanced or wealthy countries. New WRI research finds there are policy pathways to reach zero carbon buildings regardless of location or development status. The report identifies eight pathways countries can take to reach zero carbon buildings by reducing energy demand and cleaning energy supply.

by Renilde Becqué, Debbie Weyl, Emma Stewart, Eric Mackres, Luting Jin and Xufei Shen - September 2019

publication
Topics: Energy, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities
Geography: China, India, Kenya, Mexico
Accelerating Building Efficiency
Eight Actions for Urban Leaders
This guide provides local governments and other urban leaders in cities around the world with the background, guidance, and tools to accelerate building efficiency action in their communities. The primary intended audience is local government officials in urban areas.
by Jennifer Layke, Eric Mackres, Sifan Liu, Nate Aden, Renilde Becqué, Peter Graham, Katrina Managan, Clay Nesler, Ksenia Petrichenko and Susan Mazur-Stommen - May 2016

publication
Topics: Energy, WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

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Eric Mackres

INSIDER: How Land Use Paints a Clearer Picture of Urban Life

3 Hurdles to Racial Justice in Clean Energy – and 3 Ways U.S. Cities Can Overcome Them

Insights from Big Data on How COVID-19 Is Changing Society

Will Mexico Rise to the Zero-carbon Buildings Challenge?

6 Lessons on Energy Decarbonization from Countries Leading the Way

In Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal, Off-Grid Renewables Bring Power to Remote Villages

Optimize, Electrify, Decarbonize: The 3 Steps to Thriving, Zero-Carbon Cities

Can Housing Be Affordable Without Being Efficient?

A Global Greening: Green Building Certification Programs Make Gains

How to Attract Private Investment to Energy-Efficient Buildings? Follow the 5 “S’s”

Mapping Urban Land Use in India and Mexico using Remote Sensing and Machine Learning

Spatial Characterization of Urban Land Use through Machine Learning

Accelerating Building Decarbonization: Eight Attainable Policy Pathways to Net Zero Carbon Buildings For All

Accelerating Building Efficiency

Eight Actions for Urban Leaders

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