Washington, DC Area

Background

Roughly 75 percent of DC's greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. Additionally, energy is the largest operating cost for office buildings in downtown DC, accounting for 32 percent of operating expenses -- 10 percent more than the next highest expense -- according to data from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International.

For these reasons, the city's Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 (CAEA) was passed unanimously by the DC Council on July 15, 2008, and signed into law by District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty on Aug. 4, 2008. Among other energy conservation and efficiency initiatives, the bill required for the first time in any U.S. jurisdiction that the energy performance of commercial buildings be annually rated and disclosed to the marketplace (see background information). The energy performance of public buildings is also to be disclosed to the public.

IMT was a lead advisor to DC Councilmember Mary Cheh, the bill's lead sponsor, on crafting provisions in the Energy Act, including the rating and disclosure mandate.

Key Provisions

The CAEA (above) requires the energy performance of large commercial buildings (over 50,000 SF) and all public buildings to be rated with ENERGY STAR software and disclosed on a public website. To rate energy performance, utiliy data is collected for one year and then reported to the District Department of the Environment via Energy Star Portfolio Manager, a free tool from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Beginning in 2010, public buildings of at least 10,000 SF were rated with ENERGY STAR and disclosed online via a publicly-available database (now available here).

For commercial buildings, owners are given a one year grace period between the reporting of their energy performance and the publication of their scores on the public website. Energy data must be first reported to the DC government by the following dates:

- July 1, 2011 for buildings of 200,000 SF or more

- April 1, 2012 for buildings 150,000 - 200,000 SF

- April 1, 2013 for buildings 100,000 - 150,000 SF

- April 1, 2014 for buildings 50,000 - 100,000 SF

The District Department of the Environment is currently engaged in final rulemaking for the commercial buildings portion of the law.

Other Initiatives in the Region

Arlington County, VA Arlington County Building Report Cards

Arlington County, Va., located across the Potomac River from Washington, has voluntarily posted "Energy Report Cards" containing energy intensity data and ENERGY STAR scores for its public buildings on a web site available to the public. The site also includes case studies of some buildings. Under its Fresh AIRE program - Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions - Arlington County committed to reduce emissions from its own operations by 10 percent by 2012. Arlington is home to the Pentagon, Arlington National Cemetary, and the bustling commercial districts of Rosslyn and Ballston. See the web site.

Montgomery County, MD

Montgomery County, Md., home of the northwest DC suburbs Bethesda, Rockville and Silver Spring, requires the disclosure of residential utility bills to prospective homebuyers prior to the closing of a transaction. Councilmember Roger Berliner was the chief sponsor of the bill, which was enacted along with six other energy and environmental bills by the Montgomery County Council on Earth Day 2008. See the Montgomery County Council press release.