Energy and Water Benchmarking and Transparency Policy Development

Per CA AB 802, commercial and multifamily buildings over 50,000 square feet will be required to benchmark their energy use through the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) free online platform, Energy Star Portfolio Manager. Commercial reporting to the California Energy Commission began in June 2018, and multifamily reporting to the California Energy Commission will begin in June 2019. 

What We Are Doing

Like many other cities in California, and around the United States, San José has adopted its own local benchmarking and transparency policy. The Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance is anticipated to further the local impacts of AB 802 through its inclusion of additional performance-based requirements. 

The Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance was adopted by City Council on December 11th, 2018.

• View the City Council Agenda items related to the ordinance
• View the ordinance language in San José's Municipal Code

The ordinance went into effect on January 17, 2019, and the first reporting deadline is May 1, 2019. Please visit the Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance web page for compliance-related materials.  

Why It’s Important

Benchmarking is an easy way for buildings to measure and manage their energy and water use over time. With Energy Star Portfolio Manager, building owners and operators can compare their buildings to others with similar uses in similar climate zones and may receive a benchmarking score (1-100). More efficient buildings receive higher benchmarking scores and contribute greatly to community-wide greenhouse gas reduction efforts. These efforts will help reach the greenhouse gas reduction and water conservation goals of Climate Smart San José.

Task Force Meetings

To develop the ordinance and collect stakeholder feedback, City staff convened a task force throughout 2018. You can view the meeting schedule and all related materials below. 

Task Force Meeting 1: Public kick-off of City Energy Project, and introduction to benchmarking and transparency policy package

Date: Thursday, February 15, 2018
Time: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: San José Environmental Innovation Center
1608 Las Plumas Ave, San José, CA 95133
Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Presentation Slides

Task Force Meeting 2: Overview of building benchmarking and EPA’s EnergyStar Portfolio Manager, examining San José’s building stock

Date: Thursday, March 15, 2018
Time: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: San José Environmental Innovation Center
1608 Las Plumas Ave, San José, CA 95133
Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Presentation Slides

Task Force Meeting 3: Reporting and Transparency

Date: Thursday, April 19, 2018
Time: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: San José Environmental Innovation Center
1608 Las Plumas Ave, San José, CA 95133
Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Presentation Slides

Task Force Meeting 4: Examining policy structure and strategies, reporting process, and compliance

Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Time: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: San José Environmental Innovation Center
1608 Las Plumas Ave, San José, CA 95133
Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Presentation

Task Force Meeting 5: Implementation and enforcement, education and workforce trainings

Date: Thursday, June 14, 2018
Time: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: San José Environmental Innovation Center
1608 Las Plumas Ave, San José, CA 95133
Agenda
Meeting Minutes
Presentation

Task Force Meeting 6: Final Workshop

Date: Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Time: 9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Location: San José Environmental Innovation Center
1608 Las Plumas Ave, San José, CA 95133
Meeting Minutes
Presentation
Proposed Ordinance Structure

Task Force Final Webinar

Date: November 30, 2018
Time: 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Presentation
Recording (coming soon)

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