Overview
Understanding Which Buildings Must Perform, Not Just Report
Building performance standards represent a shift in what regulators require of existing buildings. For more than a decade, energy ordinances asked owners to measure and disclose consumption. Building performance standards go further by setting energy or emissions targets that covered buildings must actually meet, on a schedule, with potential penalties for falling short. A property can be fully current on its annual benchmarking and still be out of compliance with the performance standard that applies to it. Penalties may be assessed building by building, scaled to both the size of the property and the size of the shortfall. Because targets tighten at each milestone year, a building that falls short once can face a larger assessment at the next one.
Coverage is rarely obvious. Every jurisdiction draws its own lines on building size, property type and timing, and those lines move as ordinances are amended, enforcement dates shift, and new legislation passes. Several standards are also being tested in court, which changes deadlines without changing the underlying obligation to plan for them. For an owner holding assets in more than one market, determining which buildings are covered, what each one has to achieve, and by when is a portfolio-level question rather than a building-level one.
EIA helps owners meet these requirements while capturing any financial incentives attached to the same work, drawing on an established practice in energy benchmarking, building performance and sustainability compliance. By reviewing a portfolio against the standards in force where the assets sit, EIA confirms coverage with the jurisdiction, establishes performance baselines, and identifies the gap between where a building is today and where the ordinance requires it to be. Because compliance may necessitate capital improvements, EIA evaluates the same projects for available tax deductions, utility rebates and incentive programs, so that required work is planned around the funding available to offset it.