The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, along with nine other organisations, is forming a consortium in response to the U.S. Department of Energy request for consortia to advise the department on high-performance building issues.

ASHRAE initiated the formation of the Partnership and will serve as the Partnership's Secretariat.

Other members of the HPCGBP's steering committee currently includes the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), American Institute of Architects (AIA), Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), International Code Council (ICC), Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The partnership intends to be recognized as a "Partnership Consortium" by the Department of Energy as requested in response to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 Section 421. Section 421 is part of the formation of the Net-Zero Commercial Building Initiative which is intended to develop a research, development, and deployment strategy toward achieving net zero energy commercial buildings.