Policies that specify the use of ENERGY STAR tools
State and local governments across the country are taking bold steps to protect the environment and cut energy costs by adopting policies that leverage ENERGY STAR. The following are state and local government policy measures that refer to ENERGY STAR in their requirements.
Find out whether there are policies near you that affect your buildings, or read them to help shape your own policies.
You can also download the full list of federal, state, and local governments leveraging ENERGY STAR.
| Jurisdiction | Policy | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| NATIONAL POLICIES | ||
| Federal Agencies |
Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, Section 435 |
According to Section 435 of EISA 2007, federal agencies are required to lease space in buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR. The rule applies to any new leases entered into on or after December 19, 2010. The lessor’s building must have earned the ENERGY STAR on a date not more than 12 months prior to the lease award date. When a lessor’s building is not eligible to earn the ENERGY STAR, federal tenants will require the lessor to implement certain cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades to the building. |
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Executive Order 13693: Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade |
E.O. 13693 requires agencies to meet rigorous sustainability goals in areas including energy and water efficiency improvement, boosting the percentage of their energy use that comes from renewable electric and alternative energy, and broader sustainability assessments. Agencies can assess and track their progress toward meeting key goals for buildings across their portfolio using custom reports and performance metrics available within the reporting feature in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. |
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EISA 2007 Section 432 DOE August 2014 Benchmarking Guidance |
The EISA 2007 Section 432 Benchmarking Guidance updated in August 2014 requires that any buildings metered for energy and water that are owned or leased by federal agencies have their associated monthly performance data entered into the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool to better manage energy performance and allow for benchmarking. Agencies will publicly disclose annual fiscal year benchmarked energy performance data through the Department of Energy’s web-based Compliance Tracking System (CTS). |
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Alabama |
Executive Order 25 |
By December Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, all state departments and agencies will implement energy efficiency measures in order to achieve a 30 percent reduction in energy consumption relative to FY 2005 levels, using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool to measure and report energy performance. The Department of Economic and Community Affairs-Energy Division shall provide training on the use of Portfolio Manager to, at minimum, one primary and one alternate individual in each department and agency. |
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California |
Assembly Bill 1103 |
Assembly Bill 1103 requires that as of January 1, 2009, electric and gas utilities maintain and make available to building owners the energy consumption data of all nonresidential buildings in a format compatible with the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. It also requires, as of January 1, 2010, that a nonresidential building owner or operator disclose Portfolio Manager benchmarking data and scores to prospective parties as part of a whole-building transaction. |
| Assembly Bill 758 September 2015 |
AB 758 establishes California’s Existing Building Energy Efficiency Action Plan, providing a 10-year framework focused on reducing energy use in buildings in the state of California by 20% by 2030. The plan requires commercial and multifamily buildings above 50,000 square feet to benchmark their energy use using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool and to release key performance data to the state regularly, with a subset of the data to be disclosed publically. This requirement will be aligned with local benchmarking and disclosure ordinances already in place throughout the state. The plan requires all state agencies to ensure that their new leases are in ENERGY STAR certified buildings where possible, and encourages product purchasing agreements that incorporate energy efficiency standards. The plan also encourages local governments throughout the state to pursue early implementation of nonresidential benchmarking and disclosure programs. | |
| Assembly Bill 802 September 2015 |
AB 802 reiterates California’s commitment to implement a state-wide benchmarking and disclosure program for commercial and multifamily buildings over 50,000 square feet. It requires utilities to provide commercial and multifamily building owners and operators with access to monthly aggregated whole-building energy usage information no later than January 1, 2017, for the purpose of the benchmarking program. The bill defines the aggregation threshold as three or more accounts. | |
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Connecticut |
Senate Bill 1243 |
SB 1243 created the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and tasked it with creating a plan by July 1, 2012, to reduce energy use in state-owned or -leased buildings by at least 10 percent by January 1, 2013, and another 10 percent by July 1, 2018, in conjunction with the Department of Administrative Services. The bill also requires utility companies to make the energy consumption data of all nonresidential buildings they serve publically available in a format compatible for uploading to the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. |
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Delaware |
Executive Order 18 |
Executive Order 18 requires that all state executive branch agencies, departments, and offices shall achieve a collective reduction in energy consumption of at least 20 percent by the end of FY 2013 and 30 percent by the end of FY 2015, from FY 2008 levels. The Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control are directed to establish a plan to benchmark, monitor, and track the energy use and carbon emissions of all state-owned and state- leased facilities. The state has chosen the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool as its benchmarking platform. |
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District of Columbia |
Green Building Act of 2006 |
The Green Building Act of 2006 requires District-owned commercial buildings to be designed to achieve an ENERGY STAR 1–100 of 75 or higher, as determined by the ENERGY STAR Target Finder tool and benchmarked annually in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. |
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Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 |
The Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 requires that, beginning in 2010, eligible privately-owned commercial buildings be benchmarked using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool on an annual basis. Results will be published in a publicly available online database. |
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Florida |
House Bill 7135 |
House Bill 7135 mandates that the state may not enter into new leasing agreements for office space that does not meet ENERGY STAR certified building standards. Additionally, buildings constructed and financed by the state must comply with the Florida Green Building Coalition standards or a nationally recognized, high-performance green building rating system, such as the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. |
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Hawaii |
House Bill 1464 |
By December 31, 2010, each state department with responsibilities for the design and construction of public buildings and facilities will benchmark every existing public building that is either larger than 5,000 square feet or uses more than 8,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity or energy per year, using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool or an equivalent tool. The energy resources coordinator shall provide training to affected departments on Portfolio Manager. |
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Michigan |
Executive Order 2005-4 |
Executive Directive 2005-4 requires the Department of Management and Budget to establish an energy efficiency target for all state buildings managed by a department or agency within the Executive Branch of state government. It requires that all state buildings occupied by state employees be benchmarked using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. |
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New York |
Executive Order 88 |
Executive Order 88 directs state agencies to increase energy efficiency in state-owned and managed buildings by establishing a target of reducing average energy use intensity (EUI) by 20 percent relative to a FY 2010/2011 baseline by April 1, 2020. All state facilities in New York will be benchmarked in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool and the results will be posted on a public site as part of Build Smart NY, the implementation plan launched with the Executive Order. |
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Oklahoma |
Senate Bill 1096 |
Senate Bill 1096 creates the Oklahoma State Facilities Energy Conservation Program and directs all state agencies and higher education institutions to benchmark energy use in all state facilities using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool; improve energy efficiency by at least 20 percent by the year 2020; and seek to obtain ENERGY STAR certification for all eligible facilities. |
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Ohio |
Executive Order 2007-02 |
Executive Order 2007-02 establishes that the State of Ohio will use the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool as the benchmarking tool for state-owned facilities to establish building baselines and measure and track energy use and carbon emissions within the state. |
| Oregon | State Energy Efficiency Design Program (SEED) December 2012 |
Oregon’s State Energy Efficient Design (SEED) Program (ORS 276.900 – 276.915) requires state agencies to incorporate energy efficient design aspects into new construction and renovation projects, as well as track and report energy usage to the Oregon Department of Energy. Through Oregon Revised Statute 276.915, state agencies were challenged, and succeeded, in achieving a 20 percent reduction in energy use per square foot by 2015, from a baseline year of 2000. Beginning in 2015, state agencies will utilize Portfolio Manager to track, report, and benchmark building-specific energy data to support the next phase of 20 percent energy reduction by 2023, as specified in Oregon’s 10-Year Energy Action Plan. |
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Utah |
Executive Order 2006-0004 |
Executive Order 2006-0004 requires a 20 percent increase in the energy efficiency of state buildings by 2015. This Directive led the Division of Facilities Construction and Management to implement the use of the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool as the state benchmarking tool and to require all state buildings to benchmark energy consumption using Portfolio Manager. |
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Washington |
Senate Bill 5854 - 2009-10 |
SB 5854 - 2009-10 requires qualifying utilities to maintain records of energy data of all nonresidential customers and qualifying public agency buildings in a format compatible with the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. The State will use Portfolio Manager for state-owned facilities and make resulting energy performance metrics publicly available. Beginning in 2010, eligible privately-owned commercial buildings are required to be benchmarked using Portfolio Manager and resulting metrics will be disclosed to a prospective buyer, lessee, or lender. For new construction, the WA Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development must determine the appropriate methodology to measure achievement of state energy code targets using the ENERGY STAR Target Finder tool or equivalent methodology. |
| LOCAL POLICIES | ||
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Alpharetta, GA |
Green Communities Ordinance |
This comprehensive ordinance requires all new local government-owned buildings over 5,000 square feet to earn the ENERGY STAR or be certified under the LEED-NC or Earth Light for Commercial Construction rating systems. It also grants expedited permitting, plan review, and processing, as well as building and site inspections, for all privately-owned new construction and major renovation projects that have earned the ENERGY STAR. Additionally, the ordinance sets forth policies for city employees to turn off lights, power down computers, and consolidate meetings when possible. |
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Atlanta, GA |
Commercial Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance April 2015 |
The ordinance requires owners of commercial buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to benchmark energy and water consumption using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool and file the data annually with the city. Municipal buildings will be required to benchmark and disclose starting in 2015 while privately owned buildings will be required to do so starting in 2016. Those same buildings must also receive an energy audit at least once every 10 years. |
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Austin, TX |
ECAD Ordinance for Owners of Commercial Buildings |
Austin’s Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance requires that eligible commercial facilities calculate their energy performance scores not later than June 16, 2011, using a rating system approved by the director of the Austin Electric Utility. Facilities must disclose this information to a purchaser or prospective purchaser of the facility before the time of sale. The City has identified the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool as the approved system for buildings with more than 5,000 square feet of space. |
| Berkeley, CA | Berkeley Energy Saving Ordinance March 2015 |
The Berkeley Energy Saving Ordinance requires energy assessments at time of sale for medium, small, and single family buildings being sold on or after December 1, 2015. Building owners must disclose the results of the energy assessments, which include opportunities for water and energy efficiency and available incentives, to potential buyers, or verify that the new owner will conduct the energy assessment within 12 months. Buildings that are 50,000 square feet or more will need to be benchmarked in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool, report the results, and have an energy opportunity assessment completed by October 1, 2016. All buildings, except single family (1 to 4 units), will be required to benchmark and report their energy use in Portfolio Manager by 2020. High performing buildings may receive reporting exemptions if they achieve levels of efficiency in support of Berkeley’s Climate Action Plan greenhouse gas reduction goals. |
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Boston, MA |
Boston’s Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance is a component of the City’s Climate |
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| Boulder, CO | Boulder Building Performance Ordinance September 2015 |
This Boulder Building Performance Ordinance requires commercial and industrial buildings larger than 20,000 square feet, city-owned buildings larger than 5,000 square feet, and new industrial and commercial buildings larger than 10,000 square feet to rate and report their energy efficiency, and to publicly disclose their ratings after a two-year grace period. Every 10 years businesses must make energy efficiency improvements that result in a return on investment in one year (commercial and industrial buildings) or two years (large industrial campuses). Additionally, businesses must make one-time lighting upgrades that reduce their energy usage. The ordinance takes effect in 2016 for larger buildings, and 2018 and 2020 for smaller buildings. |
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Cambridge, MA |
The Building Energy Usage and Disclosure Ordinance requires energy performance data to be reported for municipal buildings by the end of 2014. Non-residential buildings over 50,000 square feet and residential buildings with 50 or more units will be required to report to the City their energy use for the previous year on an annual basis starting on May 1, 2015. Non-residential buildings over 25,000 square feet must start reporting annually starting on May 1, 2016. In the second year of reporting, the City will post the energy use data on a public website along with background information. Building owners will use the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool to benchmark and report building energy use information each year. |
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| Cook County, IL | Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance July 2014 |
The Benchmarking Ordinance requires the County to benchmark and report annual energy and water use of its buildings larger than 35,000 square feet. The Ordinance also requires that an annual report be issued to the public. The County will employ ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to track and assess energy and water consumption across its entire portfolio of buildings. |
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Chicago, IL |
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance |
Chicago's Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance requires commercial and residential buildings over 50,000 square feet to benchmark their energy consumption using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. Commercial buildings larger than 250,000 square feet will be required to comply by June 2014 and buildings between 50,000 and 250,000 square feet will be required to comply by June 2015. Residential buildings within each of those groups will have an extra year to comply. Buildings will be required to disclose their 1–100 ENERGY STAR score, energy use intensity, and greenhouse gas emissions that the city will publicly disclose one year after the first annual report is submitted. |
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Denver, CO |
Executive Order 123 |
Executive Order 123 requires new construction and major renovations of existing and future city-owned and operated buildings to be Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR and benchmarked in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. |
| Kansas City, MO | Energy Empowerment Ordinance June 2015 |
Kansas City’s Energy Empowerment Ordinance requires municipal buildings of at least 10,000 square feet and institutional, commercial, and multifamily residential buildings of at least 50,000 square feet to annually track and report to the City their energy and water usage using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. Municipal buildings of at least 10,000 square feet will be required to comply in 2016, while non-municipal buildings of at least 50,000 square feet must comply by 2018. In all cases, the building owner or condominium association is responsible for reporting whole building data. |
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Minneapolis, MN |
Ordinance 47.190 |
Ordinance 47.190 requires public and private commercial buildings in Minneapolis to track energy and water consumption using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. City buildings larger than 25,000 square feet will be required to benchmark and publicly disclose energy and water use starting in 2013. Private commercial buildings larger than 100,000 square feet will be required to benchmark starting in 2014 and publicly disclose their data in 2015, while private buildings larger than 50,000 square feet will begin benchmarking in 2015 and publicly disclosing in 2016. |
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Montgomery County, MD |
Bill 2-14 |
Bill 2-14 requires annual energy use benchmarking using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool in county-owned nonresidential buildings by June 1, 2015; benchmarking privately owned nonresidential buildings of at least 250,000 square feet by Dec. 1, 2016; and benchmarking of private nonresidential buildings of 50,000 to 250,000 square feet by Dec. 1, 2017. |
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New York, NY |
Local Law 84 |
Local Law 84, part of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, requires public and private buildings in New York City to track energy and water consumption using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. City buildings larger than 10,000 square feet will be required to benchmark energy and water use starting in 2010, and private buildings larger than 25,000 square feet will be required to do so starting in 2011. Performance metrics for eligible buildings will be published by the City on a publicly available online database. |
| Pittsburgh, PA |
Building Benchmarking Ordinance |
Pittsburgh’s benchmarking ordinance requires annual energy and water benchmarking using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. City owned buildings and commercial buildings, 50,000 square feet or larger, must report their complete energy and water usage in Portfolio Manager by June 1, 2017 and June 1, 2018, respectively. |
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Philadelphia, PA |
Bill No. 120428 |
Bill No. 120428 requires non-residential buildings over 25,000 square feet to track energy and water consumption using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. The City will publish energy and water performance metrics for eligible buildings on a publicly available online database, and the seller or lessor of any eligible building, upon request, must provide prospective purchasers or lessees with a copy of the building’s most recent Statement of Energy Performance. |
| Portland, ME |
Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance |
The Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance requires energy performance data to be reported for municipal and covered properties using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. Municipal properties are required to report energy use annually starting December 31, 2016. Nonresidential buildings between 20,000 and 50,000 square feet and residential buildings with 50 or more units are required to report their energy use annually starting May 1, 2018 and December 1, 2017, respectively. |
| Portland, OR | Energy Performance Reporting Policy April 2015 |
Portland’s Energy Performance Reporting Policy requires annual energy performance reporting for commercial buildings of at least 20,000 square feet predominantly used for office, retail, grocery, health care, higher education, and hotel purposes. Commercial buildings predominantly used for housing, industrial, nursing home, parking, primary and secondary education, residential, warehouse, and worship purposes are not covered by the policy. Commercial buildings covered by the policy must benchmark using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool and are required to begin reporting in 2017. The City will make city-wide summary statistics available to the public on an annual basis. |
| Roswell, GA |
Resolution No. 2009-06-31 |
Resolution No. 2009-06-31 mandates ENERGY STAR certification of any new construction and substantial remodels of City facilities over 5,000 square feet through the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. The Resolution to Establish Sustainable Development Regulations for Facilities Owned and Built by the City of Roswell demonstrates the City’s commitment to environmental, economic, and social stewardship. |
| Salt Lake City, UT | Executive Order 1933 February 2015 |
The Executive Order creates a multi-department Energy Management Steering Committee and requires City facilities to develop annual Energy Management Plans and track results and identify additional savings opportunities by benchmarking their energy consumption. The related Sustainable Salt Lake Plan 2015 sets a goal for the city of having 37 buildings earn ENERGY STAR certification by the end of the year. |
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San Francisco, CA |
Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance |
The Existing Commercial Building Energy Performance Ordinance amends the San Francisco Environment Code to require owners of nonresidential buildings to file Annual Energy Benchmark Summaries for their buildings using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool beginning on April 1, 2011. The results of the Energy Benchmarking Summaries will be published on a publicly available online database. |
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Seattle, WA |
Council Bill 116731 |
This bill requires owners of commercial buildings greater than 10,000 square feet and multifamily buildings with four or more units to benchmark energy performance in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool, in accordance with a phased rollout beginning in 2011. Upon request, building owners subject to this ordinance will be required to provide a copy of the most current energy benchmarking report to current tenants, prospective tenants, prospective buyers, and potential lenders considering an application for financing or refinancing of the building. |
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West Chester, PA |
ENERGY STAR Ordinance for Private Commercial Construction |
This Ordinance requires new commercial construction to be Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR and benchmarked annually in the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. |