PROGRAM ENFORCEMENT

San Diego has not initiated any fines or penalties at this time. As of January 2022, the city is working on initiating non-compliance penalties starting next reporting year, which will most likely apply to previous non-compliance years.

EXEMPTIONS FROM BENCHMARKING

1. No/temporary certificate of occupancy for more than half of the reporting calendar year.
2. The building is scheduled to be demolished one year or less from the reporting date.
3. Condominium complexes.
4. When more than half of the gross floor area of a building is used for scientific experiments requiring controlled environments, or for manufacturing with production lines or industrial purposes.

WHAT IS BENCHMARKING?

ENERGY STAR benchmarking measures a building’s efficiency performance by calculating its energy/water, and property use data, then compares those metrics to similar buildings in the EPA’s software. The building may receive an ENERGY STAR score from 1-100, with 100 being the most energy efficient. Eligible building types with a score over 75 may be eligible for ENERGY STAR Certification.

WHY EXISTING BUILDINGS?

Existing buildings are the second-largest source of GHG emissions in California. Identifying energy and water inefficiencies in our buildings provides valuable insights. The chosen method of identifying and analyzing this data is through local and state-mandated Energy Benchmarking and Performance Reporting. Below are key points for meeting energy disclosure requirements:

• The owner of the building is the responsible party.
• Benchmarking disclosure is required annually.
• “Covered or disclosable buildings” are the building types that need to comply.
• When you comply with your local benchmarking ordinance, the city shares the data with the state, placing you in AB 802 compliance as well.
• Benchmarking provides insight into how efficient or inefficient your building is operating. Efficient buildings provide for lower operating costs and higher market valuations.
• The State of California only requires annual energy disclosure; however, some cities also require buildings to become energy efficient or meet building performance standards.

5 TIPS FOR BENCHMARKING COMPLIANCE

1. Hire Green Econome to complete your energy and water compliance and energy efficiency consulting. We have benchmarked over 2,000 commercial, industrial, and multifamily buildings. We place emphasis on accurately measuring your data, rather than meeting the bare minimum for compliance. It is not only the legal thing to do, but also more economic in the long run. The data in your benchmarking report is valuable to the operation and investment of your property, and the basis of your performance and/or ESG reporting.
2. Add tenant authorization to your lease to release energy and water use data from the utilities. In some cases where the tenants are the electric/gas/water account holder, they are required to sign a utility authorization to share their usage data. As you can imagine, collecting this is time-consuming and not always successful. In lieu of the authorization, we can submit a copy of the lease if it includes authorization language.
3. Create an energy efficiency budget. The Better Buildings Financing Navigator outlines common barriers, solutions, and options for energy financing. Energy ordinances are all-for-none if building owners and operators do not invest in reduction goals. Visit our case studies for examples of the cost savings you can achieve through efficiency projects.
4. Leverage available rebates and incentives. In addition to outside funding and loans, there are robust programs for energy efficiency and clean power through utilities, local and federal government. Green Econome calculates available rebates & incentives savings into our estimates and/or audit reports.
5. Put your data to work. Use monthly data to track your energy & water use in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Demonstrating energy and water reductions through the benchmarking tool in some cities is a path to performance compliance or a requirement for ESG strategies that the building owner or tenant company has in place. Either way, you now have a powerful tool that tracks your ongoing use, so take advantage of it. Green Econome includes benchmarking consultations to assess your building’s performance and identify problem areas or opportunities for savings.