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Guide to Building Performance Standards

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OTHER POLICIES TARGETING EXISTING BUILDINGS: BENCHMARKING ORDINANCES RETROFIT POLICIES these policies require building owners to modify existing buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption. BENCHMARKING AND DISCLOSURE ORDINANCES these policies require building owners to measure, report, and disclose building energy use. While collection and disclosure of information may get an owner to make upgrades or changes based on comparison to similar buildings in their own portfolio or locally, these laws do not require that owners do anything to their buildings. RENTAL DISCLOSURE POLICIES these policies require rental properties to disclose energy use information to prospective tenants. FINANCIAL OR NONFINANCIAL INCENTIVES these policies provide incentives that encourage building owners to invest in clean energy upgrades including rebates, financing, tax credits, and density bonuses. CROSS-CUTTING POLICIES these policies require building owners to choose an energy-efficiency action from a menu of options. Building Performance Standards are a relatively new policy tool that aims to regulate buildings already in existence and promote retrofits. However, there are other longer-standing policy levers that many cities implement to drive energy efficiency investments in existing buildings besides BPS. Some policies, like mandatory benchmarking ordinances, seek to reduce information barriers to energy efficiency investments, while more stringent policies, like retrofit mandates, require building owners to take actions that directly reduce building energy use. While BPS and benchmarking are distinct policies, benchmarking requirements are a meaningful bedrock to an effective BPS or other efforts to improve energy performance whether voluntary or mandatory. Data collected through measuring and assessing energy performance for benchmarking often helps state and local governments to set and measure compliance with a BPS. Benchmarking policies typically use EPA's Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool: Portfolio Manager is an interactive resource management tool that enables you to benchmark the energy use of any type of building, all in a secure online environment. Nearly 25% of U.S. commercial building space is already actively benchmarking in Portfolio Manager, making it the industry-leading benchmarking tool. Sustainability & Energy Management Simplified

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