Minneapolis is the latest city to require energy and water benchmarking for commercial buildings.
Using the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, the phased program targets city-owned buildings over 25,000 square feet and private properties over 50,000 square feet.
The city specified that “rating and disclosure is a policy tool that uses market forces, not performance or design mandates, to increase building energy performance awareness and motivate owners and tenants to invest in efficiency improvements.”
The move also supports greenhouse gas reduction targets set by the community – 15% by 2015 and 30% by 2025.
Prior to adoption, 751 area buildings already used Portfolio Manager, estimates the EPA.
San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Austin, TX, also require performance benchmarking.
