Blog: Building Performance Policy Brief

Twice a year, we add a new post with the latest updates on building performance policies and trends around the country—focusing on what building owners and service providers need to know.

Policy Brief: August 2024

In this issue, we’re sharing details on a new building performance policy, recent and upcoming Portfolio Manager® enhancements, and other updates including the new National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building.

Recent Building Performance Policies

The following is a summary of one new building performance policy focused on existing buildings that has passed since the January 2024 issue of this newsletter.

Bedford, NY

Policy Type: Benchmarking and disclosure
Coverage at Full Implementation: Residential rental property containing 2+ residential units
Deadline(s): TBD
Other Details: This benchmarking and disclosure requirement is part of a broader set of requirements on residential rental property in Bedford.

Whole-Building Energy Data Campaign

Earlier this year, EPA launched its Whole-Building Energy Data campaign. This campaign seeks to assist building owners in making the case to utilities about the need for access to accurate whole-building energy data for multitenant buildings. The first part of the campaign—gathering input from building owners and others on where they need the data most and why—is complete with nearly 350 responses received! We are now analyzing data and identifying a list of “priority utilities,” and will begin reaching out to these utilities in early fall to request meetings with EPA and building owners.

For more information about the campaign, including engagement tools and resources, please visit Expanding Access to Whole-Building Energy Data.

Portfolio Manager Data Explorer™

EPA recently added 2022 data to the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Data Explorer. This interactive tool can be used by anyone to see performance trends of buildings benchmarked in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and features filters to see different performance metrics for different groups of buildings. Some policymakers are using the tool to understand the performance of actual buildings where representative data isn’t otherwise available.

If you haven’t taken a look at the Data Explorer yet, we encourage you to do so—we bet you’ll find it extremely informative and useful.

National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building (ZEB)

The U.S. Department of Energy recently finalized the National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building (ZEB). The national definition, which was developed in close consultation with EPA’s ENERGY STAR team, defines a ZEB as one that:
1.    Is highly energy efficient.
2.    Does not emit greenhouse gases directly from energy use.
3.    Is powered solely by clean energy.

Read the definition in detail here. While this version of the definition is focused on operational emissions, future versions may address embodied carbon and refrigerant management.

The definition is just that, a definition. As such, it is only a framework or guidance, with its impact determined by how it is used and by whom. But the goal behind the definition is to offer a standardized, consistent, and measurable set of criteria for others to use in their programs and policies.

ENERGY STAR NextGen™ Certification

The definition aligns closely with the criteria for EPA’s forthcoming ENERGY STAR NextGen™ certification, which is expected to launch in late 2024. The criteria for ENERGY STAR NextGen certification will be:

Demonstrate Superior Energy Performance: The building must achieve an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher and meet all criteria associated with ENERGY STAR certification.
Use Renewable Energy: The building must obtain at least 30% of the total energy it consumes—or 100% of the total electricity it consumes, if lower—from eligible renewable sources.
Meet a Direct Emissions Target: The building’s direct (i.e., onsite) greenhouse gas emissions intensity (GHGi) must be at or below a specified level based on building type and location.

Learn more: ENERGY STAR NextGen certification.

Policy Brief: January 2024

In this issue, we’re happy to share details on three new building performance policies, a proposed national zero emissions building definition, and utility data and tool enhancement developments.

Recent Building Performance Policies

The following is a summary of new existing building performance policies passed since the June 2023 issue of this newsletter.

Jurisdiction	Policy Type	Coverage at Full Implementation	Deadline(s)	Other Details
Detroit, MI	Benchmarking & Public Disclosure	Commercial & multifamily >= 25,000 ft²	October 1, 2024; June 1 for 2025 and each subsequent year	N/A
Providence, RI	Benchmarking & Public Disclosure	Commercial & multifamily >= 20,000 ft²	May 1 for 2025 and each subsequent year	N/A
Seattle, WA	Building Performance Standards	Commercial & multifamily >= 20,000 ft²	First interim deadlines are 2031-2035 depending on building size Final standards are 2046-2050	Greenhouse gas emissions intensity targets set by property type Allows compliance at a portfolio level, campus level, or for connected buildings There are several additional flexibilities, including for buildings of certain types and characteristics An “Alternative Compliance Payment” of $190/MTCO2e is available in 2031-2035 for emissions above the standard. Penalties of up to $10/SF depending on building type. Covered buildings may also be subject to WA state’s BPS

Proposed National Definition for a Zero Emissions Building

Recognizing that there is not currently a common, verifiable definition of what constitutes a “zero emissions building” in the U.S., in January 2024 the Biden Administration proposed a National Definition for a Zero Emissions Building, with the goal of having it leveraged by policies and programs as a long-term goal once final. The proposed definition includes three main pillars, that a building is: (1) highly energy efficient, (2) free of on-site emissions from energy use, and (3) powered solely from clean energy. The White House Office of Domestic Policy, which is spearheading the development of the new definition, seeks comments on the proposal by February 5^th at 5 P.M. EST through a Request for Information.

New Developments Related to the Provision of Whole-Building Energy Data for Building Owners

Access to whole-building energy data for multitenant buildings remains a challenge for many owners of multifamily, office, warehouse, retail, and other properties, and EPA remains committed to working with utilities to make this data more widely available. To that end, we are happy to share three new developments related to the provision of whole-building energy data for owners of multitenant buildings:

The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) recently published a model law for states that want to expand access to utility data—including whole-building energy data for owners of multi-tenant properties that request it—while protecting tenant privacy. EPA provided technical input on the law, which has a reference to EPA’s guidance to utilities to improve data accuracy and ease of use when providing this data. Even as IMT and RAP are engaging states about this issue, building owners can leverage the model law in their discussions with decision makers.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan, along with the Secretaries of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) signed a joint letter calling on utilities to make energy and water usage data available to owners of multifamily properties, enabling them to access $6.6 billion in funding created through the Inflation Reduction Act to improve energy and water efficiency and lower costs in these properties. Receipt of these funds, available through programs such as HUD Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, requires benchmarking of whole building energy use in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool prior to and after completing retrofits.
EPA is in the early stages of developing a campaign to assist building owners in engaging with utilities and government policymakers to share information about the need for whole-building data. The campaign, anticipated to launch in mid-2024, will gather building owner testimonials related to where this data is needed most and why, provide owners with an engagement toolkit, and offer EPA support to convene meetings between building owners and with utility and state decision-makers. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months!

The Portfolio Manager Upgrade Project

With funding from the Inflation Reduction Act’s Low Emissions Electricity Program (LEEP), EPA has started on its largest update to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® in more than a decade. This multi-year upgrade will include several enhancements related to benchmarking and building performance standards (BPS), such as the ability for building owners to set goals based on BPS requirements, track progress toward meeting these goals, and view compliance status of buildings across their portfolio. EPA is collecting feedback from stakeholders related to these and other proposed enhancements, following a survey conducted in October 2023, and starting initial development of new features which will be rolled out starting in 2024 and continuing over the next few years. Building owners can get regular updates on the project by subscribing to the Portfolio Manager Updates newsletter.

Policy Brief: July 2023

In this issue, we are presenting four new policies, initial deadlines to be aware of, and EPA tool enhancements and utility data efforts

Recent Building Performance Policies

Here’s a summary of jurisdictions that passed existing building performance policies since January.

Jurisdiction	Policy Type	Coverage at Full Implementation	Deadline(s)	Other Details
Minnesota	Benchmarking & Public Disclosure	Commercial 50,000 ft²+ Multifamily 50,000 ft²+ with 5+ units	Annual benchmarking deadline starts June 1, 2025	Buildings subject to local requirements deemed at least as stringent are exempted, as are buildings in cities with resident populations below 50,000 and buildings not served by investor-owned utilities but located in specified counties Public disclosure includes on-building labels
Oregon	Benchmarking & Building Performance Standards	Benchmarking: Commercial 20,000-34,999 ft2+, except Multifamily, Hospital, K-12 School, & Higher Education, which are 35,000 ft2+ BPS: Commercial 35,000 ft2+, excluding Multifamily, Hospital, K-12 School, & Higher Education	Benchmarking deadline is July 1, 2028, and every 5 years thereafter BPS Energy use intensity standards start in 2028	Development of regulations that will further define requirements due December 31, 2024 Incentives will be created to support compliance
Cambridge, MA	Building Performance Standards	Commercial 25,000 ft2+ Multifamily 50+ units	Net GHG emissions standards start in 2026	Addition to existing annual benchmarking requirement Requires buildings to achieve reductions towards net-zero GHG emissions by defined deadlines
Madison, WI	Benchmarking and Tune-ups	Benchmarking: Commercial 25,000 ft2+ Tune-ups: Commercial 50,000 ft2+	Annual benchmarking deadline starts June 30, 2024 Tune-up deadline starts October 31, 2025	Tune-ups are required every 4 years and have many forms of alternative compliance

These new policies bring the national total to more than 50 jurisdictions with some form of a building performance policy.

Initial Benchmarking and BPS Deadlines

As Building Performance Standards have taken hold in more jurisdictions across the U.S., the first compliance deadlines of these policies are getting close – where building owners must meet performance standards or alternatively comply to avoid enforcement including penalties.

Here’s a quick summary of upcoming BPS deadlines. Compliance will be assessed based on performance in the calendar year shown in the table.

Performance Year	Jurisdiction(s)
2024	Denver, CO New York, NY St. Louis - Most covered building types
2025	Boston - Phase I + II covered buildings
2026	Washington, DC St. Louis - Affordable housing & houses of worship Washington State - Rolling compliance based on any preceding 12-month period is due by June 1, 2026

Meanwhile, for annual benchmarking requirements, the following jurisdictions have their first reporting deadlines in 2023: Indianapolis, IN (June 1); Miami, FL (June 30); and New Jersey (October 1).

EPA’s Push for Aggregated Whole-Building Utility Data for Building Owners

Over the past few months, EPA has increased our engagement around aggregated whole-building utility data – raising awareness with states, NGOs, and utilities about the importance of the data and how states and utilities can provide it to owners of multi-tenant buildings. EPA anticipates that demand for this data will grow as building owners seek new federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act that require documentation of whole-building performance as a condition of participation.

Interactive EPA map In most of the U.S., building owners of multi-tenant and multifamily buildings lack access to whole-building energy use data. To address this issue, some utilities provide aggregated whole-building data, which sums up all owner and tenant consumption and delivers it to the building owners as a single value –but only when the building has a minimum number of unique tenants, to protect the privacy of individual tenant data. To see where this data is and is not available, please visit this interactive EPA map.

To support utilities who are interested in making aggregated whole-building data available, EPA recently published a new resource that provides best practice guidance to utilities on how to prioritize customer experience and data quality in delivering this data.

Additionally, EPA has provided input on a forthcoming sample law for states that want to require their utilities to provide this data. State requirements can overcome two key barriers utilities face in providing the data on a voluntary basis, by (1) creating a path for them to cover costs incurred to provide the data and (2) defining requirements to protect individual tenant data.

Stay tuned for more communications from us in the coming months as we launch a full-fledged campaign, in partnership with key building owner associations, to raise awareness among state policymakers and utilities about the need for data.

Planned Enhancements to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager

As the tool of choice for building performance policies, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is increasingly embedded in a growing number and variety of state and local requirements. To better support both building owners/managers and policymakers in implementing and complying with these requirements, EPA recently received significant funding through the Inflation Reduction Act’s Low Emissions Electricity Program (LEEP) which will allow for major enhancements to the tool. We’ll be engaging with our partners and stakeholders in the coming months to solicit your input on some very exciting enhancements, so be on the lookout for further communications from us and we hope you’ll take the time to participate and provide your input.

Learn more about how EPA’s resources support effective building performance policies.

Policy Brief: January 2023

In this issue, we’re looking back at what happened in 2022.

Recent Building Performance Policies

Here’s a summary of jurisdictions that passed existing building performance policies in 2022. These seven new policies mean that there are nearly 50 jurisdictions in the United States with some form of a building performance policy.

Jurisdiction	Policy Type	Coverage at Full Maturity
Aspen, CO	Benchmarking & Disclosure and Building Performance Standards	Commercial ≥ 5k ft² Multifamily ≥ 15k ft²
Chelsea, MA	Benchmarking & Disclosure	Commercial ≥ 20 ft² Multifamily ≥ 20 units
Honolulu, HI	Benchmarking & Disclosure	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 25k ft²
Lexington, MA	Benchmarking & Disclosure	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 25k ft²
Maryland	Benchmarking and Building Performance Standards	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 35k ft²
Massachusetts	Benchmarking & Disclosure	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 20 ft²
Montgomery County, MD*	Building Performance Standards	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 25k ft²

*Jurisdiction has an existing Benchmarking & Disclosure requirement.

The Federal Building Performance Standard

On December 7, 2022, the White House announced the first-ever Federal Building Performance Standard (BPS). The Federal BPS requires agencies to achieve zero Scope 1 on-site fossil fuel emissions in 30 percent of their buildings (by square footage) by fiscal year 2030. This is known as the performance pathway.

Agencies can also comply through the prescriptive pathway by upgrading system-specific equipment for space heating and water heating, and by ensuring that all cooling, cooking, backup generators used for non-emergency services (e.g., demand response), and laundry loads are all-electric. This rule excludes any on-site fossil fuel emissions from mission-critical activities or process loads for which no practicable electrification strategy exists. Agencies will be required to report annually. Learn more here.

Expansion of the National Building Performance Standard Coalition

Launched by the White House in January 2021, the National Building Performance Standards Coalition comprises a nationwide group of state and local governments that have committed to design and implement inclusive building performance policies and programs in their jurisdictions, with the goal of advancing legislation and/or regulation by Earth Day, 2024.

In 2022, several state and local governments joined the Coalition, including the State of California. These new additions bring the number of coalition members to 38. View the full list at the National Building Performance Standards Coalition website.

How EPA Works With State and Local Governments

EPA provides guidance and tools to help state and local governments develop effective, consistent policies that reflect the business realities faced by building owners. Here are a few of the ways we’ve done that recently:

Thumbnail of first page of EPA Statement on the Use of Net Energy Metrics

EPA Recommends Against Use of Net Energy Metrics. We added a new statement on net energy metrics to our formal recommendations on metric selection and normalization methods for building performance standards. The new statement recommends against the use of net energy metrics in BPS, maintaining that energy metrics should include all energy used to operate the building—including renewable energy generated onsite—in order to accurately reflect the overall efficiency of the building when assessing performance.
EPA is Working to Support Better Policies. We started a new series of regular quarterly calls with organizations that directly support the design and implementation of building performance standards. The goal of the series is to facilitate dialogue—aimed at better policy and greater consistency where possible.
EPA is Working to Improve Data Access. We recently published a summary of best practices for utilities on delivering the aggregated whole-building energy data needed for benchmarking.

Learn more about how EPA’s resources support effective building performance policies.

Policy Brief: June 2022

In this first issue, we’re providing background and highlighting recently passed building performance policies affecting existing U.S. commercial and multifamily buildings, as well as describing how EPA works with state and local governments on policy design and implementation.

Building Performance Policy: A Short History

Map of US showing areas with existing building policies Since California and Washington, D.C. enacted the nation’s first benchmarking and disclosure laws back in 2007-2008, more than 40 jurisdictions have followed suit. So far, every one of these laws uses EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager^® as the compliance mechanism.

More recent laws include building performance standards (BPS), which require buildings to reach prescribed levels of energy performance or GHG emissions by specific deadlines.

Go Deeper: What Are Building Performance Standards?

Thanks to 30 years of experience working with building owners and managers—and because we manage the tool on which all these laws depend—EPA is able to help local and state governments minimize complexity and inconsistency in their BPS laws. This, in turn, reduces burden on building owners and managers so they can focus on improving building performance and reducing GHG emissions.

Recent Building Performance Policies

Now that we’ve caught you up on the history, here’s a summary of jurisdictions that have passed building performance policies in the past 18 months:

Jurisdiction	Policy Type	Coverage at Full Maturity
Ann Arbor, MI	Benchmarking & Disclosure	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 20k ft²
Aspen, CO	Benchmarking & Disclosure and BPS	Commercial ≥ 5k ft2, multifamily ≥ 15k ft2
Bloomington, MN	Benchmarking & Disclosure	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 75k ft²
Boston, MA*	BPS	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 20k ft²
Chula Vista, CA	Benchmarking & Disclosure and BPS	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 20k ft²
Colorado	Benchmarking & Disclosure and BPS	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 50k ft²
Denver, CO*	BPS	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 25k ft²
Indianapolis, IN	Benchmarking & Disclosure	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 50k ft²
Maryland	Benchmarking and BPS	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 35k ft²
Miami, FL	Benchmarking & Disclosure and Mandatory Retuning	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 20k ft²
Montgomery County, MD*	BPS	Commercial & multifamily ≥ 25k ft²

*Jurisdiction has an existing Benchmarking & Disclosure requirement.

BPS in Action: Denver’s Building Performance Policy

Denver is one of the latest jurisdictions to pass a BPS. The law includes three sections:

Benchmarking (buildings >= 25k ft²)
Performance standards (buildings >= 5k ft²)
- Requires existing buildings to meet specific energy use standards by 2030, with interim targets in 2024 and 2027. The standards differ by building type, with final performance standards of 48.3 kBtu/ft² for offices and 44.2 kBtu/ft² for multifamily housing, measured in weather-normalized site energy use intensity (EUI). Existing buildings between 5,000 and 24,999 ft² that can’t meet this target have prescriptive requirements focused on LED lighting, installing solar panels, or purchasing offsite solar.
Electrification at time of equipment replacement (applies to all buildings)
- Requires buildings to electrify space heating and water heating at the time of equipment replacement when an electric solution is near cost parity with a like-for-like gas system. Phases in between 2023 and 2027.

For more information, visit Energize Denver.

How EPA Works With State and Local Governments

We published a formal recommendation that state and local BPS use Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI) as their primary metric, and that Site EUI be normalized where appropriate to reflect differences in business activity. For BPS encouraging electrification, we recommend using a secondary direct emissions metric or the use of a fossil fuel phaseout schedule. The recommendations were developed after extensive analysis and input from dozens of policymakers, building owners, and other stakeholders.
We developed sample language that state and local governments can use to require their utilities to provide aggregated data to building owners to facilitate benchmarking and BPS compliance (five jurisdictions—California, Washington, Colorado, Maryland, and the District of Columbia—have already done so). State-level requirements can provide clear direction to utilities to ensure that the right data is delivered at the right interval to the right buildings, while offering a way for utilities to recover related costs.

Learn more about how EPA’s resources support effective building performance policies.