TABLE OF CONTENTS
COMPLIANCE GUIDE

WHAT IS THE SAN JOSÉ BUILDING PERFORMANCE ORDINANCE (BPO)?

The San Jose Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance (BPO), is a citywide energy benchmarking & building performance program requiring owners of existing commercial and multifamily buildings to report energy and water use annually, using ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®, and meet building performance standards on a rolling five-year basis, or perform improvements if standards are not met.

DOWNLOAD SAN JOSÉ BPO BROCHURE

BPO PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Policy

CLIMATE SMART SAN JOSÉ

Bill Text

SAN JOSÉ BUILDING PERFORMANCE ORDINANCE

Enforcing Agency

CITY OF SAN JOSÉ

Size of Property

20,000 SQ. FT. AND ABOVE

Property Type

COMMERCIAL, MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS

Required Information

12 MONTHS ENERGY, WATER, AND BUILDING USE DATA

Phase II Building Performance
Standards

BEYOND BENCHMARKING PROGRAM

Due Date

MAY 1, ANNUALLY

Fees

$150 (City of San José) Annual Benchmarking Submission Fee
TBD (City of San José) Beyond Benchmarking Submission Fee

EXEMPTIONS FROM BENCHMARKING

  1. The building meets certain use types, as determined by the city.
  2. The building is in financial distress, as determined by the city.
  3. Disclosure of usage data would result in the release of proprietary information, violating privacy rights under applicable laws.
  4. The building was unoccupied during the reporting year, or demolition commenced on, or before the compliance deadline.

A full list of exemptions can be found on the City's Exemption Request Form.

PROGRAM ENFORCEMENT

Failure to comply with annual benchmarking may incur a monetary penalty from $25-$50/day of non-compliance, up to $5,000 per calendar year.

PHASE II BUILDING PERFORMANCE STANDARDS 

Phase II, 'Beyond Benchmarking' is due every 5 years, starting May 1, 2023. Covered buildings will be required to demonstrate satisfactory building efficiency (Performance Pathway) OR improvement standards (Improvement Pathway). Due dates are phased in based on Sq. Ft. and the last digit of the APN. See the compliance schedule table below.

OPTION 1

PERFORMANCE PATHWAY

For properties that can meet energy and/or water Key Performance Standards. This step requires data verification of benchmarking reports by a licensed professional and the submission of a Performance Verification Report.

OPTION 2

IMPROVEMENT PATHWAY

For properties unable to meet energy and/or water Key Performance Standards, the owner must implement one of three actions for each, and submit corresponding report(s) from a CA-licensed professional.

BEYOND BENCHMARKING COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE

Covered buildings are required to comply with Phase II performance requirements starting on the initial due dates below, with subsequent compliance due dates due every five (5) years thereafter.

LAST DIGIT OF APN FIRST DUE DATE ≥ 50,000+ SQ.FT FIRST DUE DATE 20K-49,999+ SQ.FT
0 May 1, 2023 May 1, 2024
1 May 1, 2023 May 1, 2024
2 May 1, 2024 May 1, 2025
3 May 1, 2024 May 1, 2025
4 May 1, 2025 May 1, 2026
5 May 1, 2025 May 1, 2026
6 May 1, 2026 May 1, 2027
7 May 1, 2026 May 1, 2027
8 May 1, 2027 May 1, 2028
9 May 1, 2027 May 1, 2028

BEYOND BENCHMARKING EXEMPTIONS

All exemption requests must be submitted via the City of San José webform by April 1, prior to the building's deadline. The following exemptions may qualify:

  1. The building is zoned as exclusively industrial (HI, LI, IP).
  2. The building is under 20,000 Sq. Ft.
WATER EFFICIENCY EXEMPTION

Your covered building may qualify for a water exemption if the building is Residential, under 50,000 Sq. Ft., and not sub-metered for water use.

PERFORMANCE PATHWAY DETAIL

To qualify, buildings must satisfy the following for energy and/or water respectively.

  • Be in full compliance with all years of Phase I benchmarking.
  • Have complete and accurate benchmarking data.
  • Meet one of the following Key Performance Standards for 2 of the 3 years preceding its Beyond Benchmarking deadline:
ENERGY
  • New construction, and occupied for less than five (5) years.
  • LEED™ Existing Buildings O&M v4 Certified.
  • ENERGY STAR® score of 75 or greater.
  • ENERGY STAR® score improvement of 15 points or greater, from the baseline year.
  • Weather Normalized Site Energy Use Intensity (EUI-WN) that is a minimum of 25% below the calculated mean for the property use type.
  • 15% or greater reduction in Site EUI-WN from the baseline year.
WATER
  • Water Use Intensity (WUI) is a minimum of 25% below the locally calculated mean for that property type.
  • WUI reduction by at least 15% from the baseline year.
  • Multifamily Only: US EPA Water Score of 75; or
  • Multifamily Only: US EPA Water Score improvement of 15 points or greater, from the baseline year.
COMPLETION

To complete compliance the building owner/agent must hire a CA-Licensed Professional (as specified by the City's ordinance, Green Econome is a qualified LP).

  • The LP will review the benchmarking data and sign the Performance Verification Report, verifying that the energy and /or water data is complete and accurate.
  • Submit the Report and form, one per utility (energy and/or water).

IMPROVEMENT PATHWAY DETAIL

For covered buildings that do not meet the Performance Pathway Key Performance Standards for energy and/or water, the property owner/agent must implement one of the following three actions respectively, and submit a corresponding report authorized by a CA Licensed Professional (like Green Econome).

  1. ASHRAE Level II or higher audit, conducted by a Qualified Auditor.
  2. Retrocommissioning (RCx), conducted by a Qualified Retrocommissioning
    Professional.
  3. Install two (2) Targeted Efficiency Improvement Measures, selected from a prescribed list, in accordance with California Building Standards Code Title 24.
COMPLETION

To complete compliance the building owner/agent must hire a CA-Licensed Professional (as specified by the City's ordinance, Green Econome is a qualified LP).

  • The improvement pathway at a minimum must be planned and contracted with a CA LP by the Beyond Benchmarking deadline. The action must be planned/completed within the 5-year compliance window. No earlier.
  • The LP will conduct the Improvement Pathway, sign the Compliance Report, and provide all documentation to the building owner.

GREEN ECONOME PHASE II PROCESS

    1. Evaluate the Phase I benchmarking report(s) for the building's least-cost path to Phase II compliance (or complete benchmarking, if annual disclosure hasn't been met).
    2. Provide Phase II proposals for applicable services.
    3. Upon signed agreement, fulfill Phase II services, submit compliance requirements to the City, and provide reports to the building owner/representative.

AS BENCHMARKING CONSULTANTS AND ESG REPORTING EXPERTS, WE WILL WORK WITH YOU TO DEVELOP A BUILDING PERFORMANCE BASELINE FOR COMPLIANCE

Green Econome takes an accurate, efficient, and comprehensive approach to ENERGY STAR® benchmarking that ensures you receive meaningful data about the performance of your building for disclosure compliance, ESG reporting, green loans, auditing, or whatever your project needs may be. Our property use details and utility data collection, review, and verification process leads to complete benchmarking.

RELEVANT SERVICES