Asset Management
Local governments make many long-term investments in terms of buildings, machinery, infrastructure and other assets. There are opportunities for additional or continued energy savings as existing assets are managed. Local governments can see significant energy and cost savings by systematically managing energy use, considering the lifecycle energy costs of their investments, and encouraging changes in employee behaviors. This sub-category includes information on three topic areas:
- Building Energy Benchmarking and Retrofitting The percentage of municipal building square footage currently having its energy use benchmarked; the existence of a comprehensive retrofit strategy incorporating capital and operational improvements, including through a commitment as a Municipal Partners in the DOE’s Better Buildings Challenge, or significant efficiency investments in public buildings.
- Sustainable Infrastructure Policies - Sustainable infrastructure policy for capital investments (i.e., lifecycle, fix it first, development impact fees); Percentage of the capital budget devoted to maintenance of existing assets.
- Public Workforce Policies encouraging energy-efficient behavior of public employees such as flexible schedules and/or teleworking; City-provided incentives or benefits to public employees for carpooling or use of public transit.
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Akron’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Akron.
Last update: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Albuquerque benchmarks all municipal buildings of all sizes using Energy Manager, Portfolio Manager, and GRITS for project analysis. This data is regularly monitored and analyzed on a monthly basis and upon request.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City's Office of Energy and Sustainability Management houses the City's Energy Manager and Energy Specialist who are both dedicated to benchmarking, analyzing building performance, coordinating and implementing improvements, and generally implementing the mandates of regular facility energy performance improvements as stated in Albuquerque Ordinance 2-12-1 across all city facilities and departments. Between 2009 and Feb 2021, the city completed 115 energy conservation retrofit projects resulting in over $45 million and 220,178,020 kWh in savings.The Office also continuously assesses and makes improvements to its own management processes. In the last year, the Office has procured smart cities facilities software to City of Albuquerque utilize a data-centric approach to energy management. The Office of Energy and Sustainability Management's recent special projects include the development of an Energy Savings Performance Contract to assess and improve over 2 million square feet of city facilities, for which a contract was just awarded to begin level 3 audits. The capital improvements will include thermal and battery storage, additional PV, wastewater heat recovery, and building controls to improve energy efficiency by more than 30% and reduce GHG emissions by 40-50%.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Allentown’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy for municipal buildings, but the city recently accomplished multiple upgrades.
Last update: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
Arlington annually benchmarks 100% of municipal facilities in the Energy Star Portfolio Manager. Additioinally, the county seeks annual energy use intensity (EUI) reductions in its building portfolio of 2 percent per year. A new (2016) County Operations Energy Plan outlines enterprise-wide strategies for energy performance improvements.
Public Employees
Arlington policy allows for 4/40 or 9/80 compressed work schedules and teleworking.
Last updated: May 2017
Building Benchmarking
In the City of Atlanta, more than 90% of government building square footage has been benchmarked in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Management. Atlanta's benchmarking data can be found here.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City’s Guaranteed Energy Savings Performance Contract (GESPC) Initiative evaluated 181 city buildings for energy and water usage. Phase 1 involved investment grade audits and phase 2 is currently underway implementing energy saving measures based on the recommendations in phase one. The GESPC is forecasted to save the City $10 million dollars annually.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Augusta's benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Augusta.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding benchmarking practices in Aurora.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We did not find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Aurora.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
In November 2008, the city council approved the Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance (Ordinance 20081106-047). It requires building energy rating and disclosure for nonresidential facilities and applies to municipal buildings. By 2014, 8.7 million square feet of city buildings were benchmarked, which is 97% of the total square footage owned by the city. Austin benchmarks municipal buildings through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City of Austin city departments are responsible for identifying and assisting the energy manager, Austin Energy, to identify cost-effective retrofit projects in the department’s facilities and processes. Department management also must assure adequate funds are budgeted and available for the implementation of cost-effective retrofit projects. Commissioning has been completed at the City’s 14 largest buildings. The City has also developed baseline sustainability standards that guide retrofit projects. The City recently entered into a contract with an energy services company to identify and implement energy efficiency projects at 8 of the City's largest buildings, including City Hall.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Bakersfield's benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Bakersfield.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Baltimore benchmarks municipal energy use for approximately 14 million square feet of City facilities in an internal database, which represents 85% of the City's square footage. The DGS Division of Capital Projects and Energy is in the process of rebuilding the utility management database and reviews energy use on a quarterly and ad hoc basis. Baltimore's 2019 Sustainability Plan lists an action item to develop and pass a benchmarking legislation and a annual disclosure ordinance for energy and water use.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Baltimore, through the Division of Capital Projects and Energy, in the Department of General Services, engages in a comprehensive analysis of all energy used by city functions. The City of Baltimore started energy retrofits on buildings with over 25,000 ft² in 2004. Since then, 60% of buildings have undergone efficiency retrofits. When a building is considered, the City conducts a comprehensive assessment of all energy usage and work to implement savings through the HVAC, building envelope, and lighting systems.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Baton Rouge’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Baton Rouge.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Birmingham partnered with Trane Technologies to undertake a city-wide upgrade of facilities. The project installation was completed in early 2019 and Trane Technologies has been tasked with initiating an annual Measurement & Verification (M&V) report which includes benchmarking of 90% of public buildings over 10,000 square feet.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Through Birmingham's Energy Performance Contracting Project with Trane Technologies, 120 municipal buildings have undergone audits and retrofits. The project's goal was to decrease water, electric, and natural gas consumption over the period of the guarantee.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Boise benchmarks all occupied municipal buildings over 1,000 square feet. All facilities over 10,000 square feet are benchmarked and energy use is monitored throughout the year. EUIs are calculated on an annual basis.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Boise analyzes building performance on an annual basis, which identifies buildings that are underperforming. Underperforming buildings then undergo energy audits to identify issues and improve performance.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
In accordance with the 2013 Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance, Boston uses Portfolio Manager to benchmark energy use in 100% of its municipal buildings. Boston makes all municipal utility billing data available through Analyze Boston, the city’s open data portal. Boston also makes real-time 5 and 15 minute interval data on the city’s largest facilities available publicly through Analyze Boston.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The city’s integrated energy management plan, developed in 2004, laid out a retrofit plan for Boston’s top ten municipal energy users, and the plan is currently being implemented. Boston secured nearly $10 million in commitments from Eversource and National Grid to support the acquisition and installation of energy efficiency measures in city properties. In August 2014, the City announced completion of a $66.7 million energy efficiency rehabilitation of 13 public housing properties owned by the Boston Housing Authority (BHA). The work completed by project contractor, Ameresco, includes millions of dollars in energy savings, capital upgrades to BHA’s public housing portfolio, and the first-in-the-nation, public housing project-labor agreement, which provided an opportunity for BHA residents to embark on careers in the building trades through the Building Pathways Program. Based on the BHA success, the City developed an energy efficiency project finance program, called the Renew Boston Trust, which replicates field-proven finance models for municipal, housing, commercial and institutional sectors. Renew Boston Trust has completed the audit of its Pilot Phase buildings and has selected approximately $10 million in work for 14 buildings. The ECMs will result in guaranteed annual savings of approximately 2,700,00 kWh of electricity, 49,000 Therms of natural gas, 2,500 k/gal of water, and 4,500 Mlbs of steam. In addition, the city is installing renewable generation which is guaranteed to produce at least 335,000 kWh/yr.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
While a benchmarking policy is not in place, Boulder still benchmarks 28 facilities that make up 80% of the city’s total energy use. Boulder’s Facilities and Asset Management Division monitors energy use in city facilities and is tasked with ensuring that new facilities and reconstruction projects are designed to minimize overall capital, maintenance, and energy costs. Since 2009, Boulder has completed several energy-efficiency upgrades at municipal facilities, including switching to energy efficient lighting and installing efficient HVAC systems.
Public Employees
Boulder permits its city employees to telework at the discretion of their city departments.
Last updated: October 2015
Building Benchmarking
Bridgeport benchmarks 100% of city buildings in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Benchmarking all municipal buildings allows the City to prioritize retrofits, project long-term funding needs, and incorporate retrofit needs into funding requests.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Buffalo is currently in the process of benchmarking all buildings above 1,000 square feet by putting the usage data on ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The City’s energy consultant is working toward 100% and scrubbing the data for accuracy. The City plans to make data publicly available when deemed accurate. Energy benchmarking legislation is currently in progress, and is anticipated to be sponsored in the Common Council in 2021.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Buffalo has relied on energy audits, specifically usage or cost per building, when prioritizing efficiency retrofits. 17 buildings have received comprehensive retrofits over the last 5 years yielding a 2,000,000 kwh energy savings. This accounts for 40% of the City’s owned building assets.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
Burlington benchmarks its municipal buildings, but we do not know what percentage of their buildings the city benchmarks. Burlington has also made substantial efficiency investments, including boiler replacements, upgraded lighting systems, and the installation of heat recovery units.
Public Employees
Burlington is aiming to develop a commute reduction program that may include flexible work schedules, but this program has not yet been enacted.
Last updated: October 2015
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Cape Coral's benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Cape Coral.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
Carrboro does not regularly benchmark its municipal buildings and the town has not adopted a comprehensive retrofit strategy, but Carrboro has begun to plan for retrofits in capital budgeting.
Public Employees
Carrboro does not have policies to reduce the commutes of city workers, such as flex schedules and teleworking.
Last updated: April 2014
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Charleston’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Charleston.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Charlotte benchmarks all of its municipal buildings (approximately 4 million square feet of floor space) across various metrics, including energy consumption. EASY software provides energy use intensity metrics for the portfolio. All City-owned and City-managed buildings greater than 5,000 square feet are required to benchmark their energy use intensity.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
The City of Charlotte does take a strategic approach to managing energy use in municipal facilities with a focus on making continual energy efficiency improvements., Charlotte passed an updated Sustainable Facilities Policy, which focuses on energy efficiency retrofits and prioritizing benchmarking. The revised Sustainable Facilities Policy (SFP) is intended to direct City departments to design, construct, and operate City buildings in a manner aligned with stated 2030 Strategic Energy Action Plan goals. On an annual cycle, the City will utilize benchmarking outcomes to identify the least energy-efficient facilities and the facilities with the largest potential for carbon reduction and take data-driven steps to address energy inefficiencies. A Focus on Efficiency report will be prepared each fiscal year that highlights the bottom quartile of buildings based on energy performance. Then each building in the bottom quartile will be reviewed and assigned to one of three action categories: (1) Retro-Commissioning, which requires a budget request for retro-commissioning to be performed the following fiscal year, (2) Capital Project Integration, or (3) Deferred Action.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
Charlottesville tracks the energy use of all municipal facilities and imports it into Portfolio Manager. A Comprehensive retrofit strategy is part of Charlottesville’s ongoing energy management program. In 2008, the city entered into an energy performance contract for its municipal buildings. By November 2012, seven schools and several local government buildings had achieved Energy Star certification.
Public Employees
Charlottesville allows city employees to telecommute and although there is not a city-wide policy, some departments permit employees to have flex schedules.
Last updated: October 2015
Building Benchmarking
Chicago benchmarks all buildings over 50,000 square feet under the City’s benchmarking policy. The City publicly discloses data of all private and public buildings with benchmarking requirements.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The Sustainable Chicago 2015 Plan has a goal to improve energy efficiency in municipal buildings by 10%. The city has three contracts with energy services companies to retrofit Chicago's municipal projects. Initial savings associated with these contracts appear to be approximately $9.4 million in energy costs for 2016, a portion of which comes from the energy efficiency upgrades.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
Chula Vista benchmarks facilities using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager annually.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City’s Municipal Building Energy Efficiency Policy (2005) states that existing buildings should be retrofitted with more efficient technologies as available. Currently, Chula Vista is undergoing LED lighting retrofits in all buildings. The City also has a City Operations Sustainability Plan with goals to reduce energy use in facilities and is a participant in the DOE's Better Buildings Challenge. The City worked to create a Roadmap to Zero Net Energy in late 2019, which looked at the majority of city facilities for all opportunities for energy efficiency and renewable energy. In 2020, the City retrocommissioned 2 existing buildings
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The City of Cincinnati has entered all of its government owned buildings in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Energy use is updated and monitored monthly.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City of Cincinnati has completed over $22 million in efficiency improvements through performance contracting and retro commissioning. The improvements have impacted over 50 percent of public buildings. In 2021, the City will embark on a $19M energy efficiency project that will include the installation of an additional2 MW of onsite solar, 34,000 LED lighting fixtures, conversion of 155 HVAC units away from R22 refrigerant.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Cleveland benchmarks 95% of the municipal buildings which is exported to ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. 4.5 million square feet is reported publicly through DOE’s Better Building Challenge. Facility energy use is monitored continuously throughout the year through the City's use of the EnergyCAP Energy data management system. In-depth analysis is conducted at least on an annual basis
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City has a formal Energy Manager and an Energy Analyst on staff. The City continues to perform energy audits at facilities that are candidates for capital improvements, and incorporate energy efficiency improvements such as LED Lighting, higher efficiency equipment and Building Automation Systems (BAS) Controls, within the scope of such Capital improvements. The Energy Management team implements small-scale proof of concept projects such as integrating BAS systems across various facilities, and from a strategic perspective coordinates the implementation of the City's Sustainable Municipal Building Policy in new construction and capital improvement projects.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to determine if Colorado Springs benchmarks municipal building energy use.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Colorado Springs.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Columbia's benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Columbia.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The City of Columbus tracks gas, electric, and water utility bills for 540 facilities that cover 7,729,136 square feet. 218 of these properties are tracked in ENERGY STAR's Portfolio Manager. In February 2020 the City passed a benchmarking ordinance requiring all 66 of the City's municipal buildings 25,000 sq ft and above be benchmarked in Portfolio Manager and submitted annually to Building and Zoning Services starting June 1, 2021.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The Sustainable Columbus Municipal Operations Energy Efficiency Relay Team and Southface Institute finished developing a Comprehensive Energy Management Plan outlining the steps needed to reduce municipal building energy and GHG consumption at the end of 2020. The plan specifies that the largest (over 25,000 square feet) and highest site energy intensity (150% above the national median EUI) buildings be the focus of retro-commissioning and capital energy efficiency improvements.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Dallas is currently working on a project for Energy Benchmarking City of Dallas facilities over 10,000 square feet in Energy Star Portfolio Manager. Current plan is to benchmark 75% of the City of Dallas buildings by end of FY22 for which energy utility is currently funded by City of Dallas general funds. Energy data for all the energy benchmarked buildings will be updated annually to monitor facility energy usage. The information from Energy Star Portfolio Manager will be made available by FY22.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
City of Dallas implemented energy efficiency projects in various City of Dallas buildings in 2008 and 2015 under SECO Loan Star Program. City of Dallas takes a proactive approach in sustaining the energy savings, by addressing the deficiencies identified in M&V reports provided under energy performance contracts. City of Dallas is also currently working with SECO under a FY 21 program to initiate preliminary energy audits (PEA) for some of the City of Dallas buildings. City of Dallas currently has dedicated and ongoing funding sources available for energy procurement and monitoring which includes energy efficiency improvements.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Dayton’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Dayton.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The City of Denver has benchmarked 100% of public buildings in ENERGY STAR Portfolio manager, which amounts to approximately 10.5M square feet. Additionally, the city tracks the energy use of all of its buildings through EnergyCap. Energize Denver maps all benchmarked buildings.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Near the end of 2014, the City had completed a Facility Condition and Assessment Program to review the overall condition of every city facility and determine where appropriate improvements should take place. The City is continuing its Facility Condition and Assessment Program. Information derived from these audits will be prioritized for implementation based on feasibility and available funding. The City is currently working to implement performance contracts with multiple Energy Service Companies to develop energy conservation measures for evaluation and review. The City recently completed the implementation phase of its first Energy Performance Contract (EPC). This contract totaled approximately $2M, covering 14 buildings of various functions, and has a projected payback of approximately 15 years.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
Des Moines’s benchmarking ordinance requires benchmarking of buildings over 25,000 square feet.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City of Des Moines has leveraged previous utility programs to complete comprehensive audits of the City's portfolio, identify eligible efficiency improvements, prioritize improvements and implement projects. The city plans to develop an energy master plan.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Detroit has benchmarked 120 buildings. The city estimates they benchmark less than 75% of municipal buildings.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City has conducted audits on 60 buildings and is working on implementing a retrofit strategy.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
We did not find information regarding municipal building benchmarking or the city’s energy performance strategy for municipal buildings.
Public Employees
We did not find information on policies to reduce the commutes of city workers, such as flex schedules and teleworking.
Last updated: October 2013
Building Benchmarking
El Paso benchmarks energy use for approximately 52% of municipal buildings in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy for the city.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Fort Worth does not currently benchmark energy use in municipal buildings.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Fort Worth has energy savings performance contracts for over 100 facilities. Approximately 9% of municipal buildings have undergone comprehensive retrofits in the past 5 years. The ESPC Phase 7 was authorized in 2013, with substantial portions completed in 2014 and the performance period extending through 2026.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Fresno's benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Fresno.
Last update: June 2021
Buildings Benchmarking
Grand Rapids benchmarks all municipal facilities and have all energy data loaded in Energy Star Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The city's comprehensive asset management program manages energy efficiency upgrades. Over the past 5 years, Grand Rapids has implemented many efficiency projects. Since 2008, Grand Rapids has received over $900,000 in rebates from the electric utility and has avoided over 11,000,000 kWh of electricity usage through the implementation of energy efficiency projects.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Greensboro’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Greensboro.
Last update: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Hartford tracks electricity, natural gas, and water consumption data on over 40 of its most energy intensive public buildings on the WegoWise platform. This amounts to 85% of the area of its public facilities over 5,000 square feet. Energy use per square foot is posted for all benchmarked facilities.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City is in the process of a three-part retrofit strategy for municipal facilities, including benchmarking, inputting historical energy performance metrics, and installing energy conservation measures. These measures have included comprehensive interior and exterior lighting upgrades, improving space use timing, plus more time and cost-intensive retrofits to our mechanicals such as HVAC and a fuel cell. The Office of Sustainability regularly reports on energy projects to the Energy Improvement District Board, which meets regularly. The City directs some revenue from energy projects into an Energy Efficiency Revolving Fund. This is a dedicated account that can only be used for energy-related initiatives, and has funded activities outside of regular maintenance such as the City’s energy dashboard and school retrofits.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable find information regarding Henderson’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Henderson.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
As required by Ordinance 20-47, Honolulu is beginning to benchmark municipal buildings above 10,000 square feet. Several city buildings have been completed, and the City is currently procuring support to complete the rest of the covered buildings above 10,000 square feet.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City is in the process of issuing an efficiency performance contract that will include a prioritized set of energy efficiency retrofit projects, as well as renewable energy generation and storage opportunities, and EV infrastructure development. The Board of Water Supply (BWS) has entered into a 20‐year, $33 million Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) with NORESCO LLC. This partnership allows the BWS to implement comprehensive energy efficiency, renewable energy, and operational improvements which guarantees enough energy savings over the next 20 years to pay for the contract. The project is being financed by a loan from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, managed by the State of Hawaii Department of Health. Honolulu also has 2 ongoing ESCO contracts for major facilities.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Houston benchmarks 100% of municipal buildings. Houston committed approximately 21% (of total square feet) to the Better Buildings Challenge. Energy use is monitored annually through Energy Star Portfolio. The Houston CAP includes a target to adopt a municipal benchmarking and disclosure policy for municipal buildings by 2021.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
In the City’s municipal energy efficiency program, 6 million square feet of municipal buildings are achieving guaranteed energy use reductions approaching 30% with average paybacks of less than 10 years. The City makes energy efficiency upgrades through the use of CIP projects. The City is also participating in a sub-metering program that allows key users to monitor electricity usage in real-time and more effectively respond to inefficiencies. Additional initiatives include the City of Houston General Services Department (GSD) Energy Efficiency Project. GSD applied to the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) for energy efficiency funding under its LoanSTAR (Saving Taxes and Resources) Revolving Loan Program to fund the energy cost reduction measures identified by Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Energy Systems Laboratory. TEES conducted and developed a Preliminary Energy Assessment (PEA). The total estimated cost of the loan, including energy cost reduction measures and project management is $2,326,526 with a payback of 8.7 years. GSD will implement the energy cost reduction measures at several City facilities.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Indianapolis benchmarks energy use in 56 city facilities. Utility usage data is reviewed monthly by the Indianapolis Building Authority.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy for public buildings in Indianapolis.
Last Updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Jacksonville regularly enters energy use for municipal building space into the ENERGY STAR program. However, we were unable to confirm the percentage of overall city-owned square footage that the benchmarked square footage represents.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to confirm the existence of comprehensive retrofit strategies for public buildings in Jacksonville.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Kansas City benchmarks 100% of buildings over 10,000 sq-ft annually according to the city's benchmarking ordinance.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Although we could not confirm if Kanas City has adopted a comprehensive retrofit strategy for its municipal buildings, this City has implemented retrofits in several public buildings. Energy costs avoided is reported, based on benchmarking, at almost $1.5 million over a 3-year period. Overall, the city has reduced its electricity usage by 21%, including all uses, between 2000 and 2013. Per Resolution No. 181000 the City Manager is directed to achieve Energy Star certification for 90% of all eligible municipal buildings of 25,000 square feet or more by no later than December 31, 2023.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The City benchmarks energy use in all municipal buildings using a combination of B3 Benchmarking platform and ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Energy use is monitored regularly, and 87 facilities totaling over 2 million square feet are analyzed every year for progress towards the City's Better Buildings Challenge target.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City's Office of Sustainability continually monitors building energy performance and works with facilities to identify opportunities for improvements and deploy solutions. The Office began calculating municipal GHG inventories on an annual basis in 2021, and also began splitting energy/emissions data into departments to facilitate conversations around energy management and reduction opportunities. The City's Office of Sustainability created a Sustainable Innovation Fund in 2020 to augment facility energy efficiency improvements and provide staff training. The fund totals $500,000 over 5 years.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Lakeland’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Lakeland.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Las Vegas benchmarks all municipal buildings.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
In addition to the 2050 Master Plan's goals and policies (see Chapter 4 - Energy, Water, GHG Emissions, and Public Facilities), the city of Las Vegas adopted R-32-2017, a resolution adopting a strategy for net-zero energy, sustainability, and community resilience. A goal of the strategy, in addition to the LEED requirement is to ensure that 25% of existing occupied City buildings and facilities meet or be upgraded to a LEED or equivalent standard, pursuant to R-32-2017. Several new buildings have been built to LEED standards or are being replaced with a LEED rated building. All other upgrades are included in the annual Capital Improvement Planning process.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
Lawrence benchmarks all municipal building space using EnergyCAP and uses the benchmarking data to identify opportunities to save energy. The city has contracted energy professionals to conduct energy audits of some key facilities. Once the contractors determine projects with the best savings potential, Lawrence has prioritized the most cost-effective retrofits.
Public Employees
Lawrence does not have government-wide policies for teleworking or flex schedules, but individual department have implemented these.
Last updated: October 2015
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Little Rock’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Little Rock.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Long Beach benchmarks all municipal buildings through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City of Long Beach is currently finalizing its Facilities Conditions Assessment which identifies the overall capital renewal, building integrity, deferred maintenance, code compliance and life safety deficiencies in each facility while providing cost estimates. The City of Long Beach Public Works Department is currently under construction for a comprehensive efficiency retrofit of one of the City’s major health facilities. The scope of work will include upgrades to major systems (i.e. lighting, HVAC, windows, doors, roof, etc). Since 2006, the City of Long Beach has participated in Southern California Edison’s Energy Leader Partnership. The program helps identify and address energy efficiency and Demand Response (DR) opportunities in municipal facilities, develop long-term energy and sustainability plans, and increase community awareness of Integrated Demand-Side Management (IDSM) opportunities. In addition, ELP supports cities in strategic initiatives and policy development in climate action planning, reach codes, benchmarking, and other longer-term objectives. While the program has sunset, the City continues to lead this initiative with partners to achieve the same goals of the program.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
Los Angeles benchmarks all municipal buildings over 7,500 square feet through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager as part of the Existing Building Energy and Water Efficiency Ordinance.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Los Angeles audits buildings as part of the Existing Building Energy and Water Efficiency Ordinance to retrofit whole buildings and implement specific interventions. The City is currently using the benchmarking data and energy audits to best allocate resources.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
Louisville uses EnergyCAP to evaluate building energy use and to identify and prioritize opportunities to increase energy efficiency in its buildings. Louisville is in the progress of getting all facilities benchmarked in EnergyCAP software. The City anticipates getting the majority of our facilities processed and benchmarked into EnergyCAP by mid-2021. Energy use is analyzed on an ongoing basis by the Energy Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
In addition to Louisville Metro's ongoing Energy Savings Performance Contract with Johnson Controls, the first Energy Manager was hired in February of 2021, and is using BAS to implement an initial wave of facility setbacks by scheduling HVAC systems and setting appropriate unoccupied setpoints. The Energy Manager is using a combination of EnergyCAP data and reporting features from the local utility to assess overall energy usage and target facilities of higher impact and potential for improvement. The Energy Manager will also assess opportunities for improved controls sequencing, ensuring that chillers and boilers are appropriately locked out when possible, and implementing demand-based temperature and static pressure resets in high-performance systems, as well as resets on heating water temperatures and chiller setpoints where possible. The Energy Manager will also be exploring high-impact opportunities for upgrades to LED lighting with reliable occupancy sensor and daylight harvesting technology.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Madison benchmarks all municipal buildings through EnergyCap.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City of Madison has a facilities management team that manages energy use in municipal facilities. This team is in charge of benchmarking, meeting monthly and developing schedules for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects for the current budgeted year as well as strategic long-term planning. This team has a dedicated budget line item for energy improvements.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding McAllen’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in McAllen.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The Memphis-Shelby County Office of Sustainability currently tracks energy use for all Shelby County buildings and is working to incorporate City of Memphis buildings into their energy management software.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Shelby County requires that all capital improvement projects conduct a cost analysis. The County recently completed large-scale retrofits for two office buildings downtown (Vasco Smith Administration Building in 2015 and Shelby County Office Building/157 Poplar in 2011) that incorporated upgrades to multiple systems (HVAC, replacement of electrical infrastructure, window replacement, boiler plant replacement). The City of Memphis is investing in LED retrofits for some fire stations and is working with an energy performance contractor to renovate City Hall to make it more efficient. The energy performance contracting approach may be applied to other city facilities in addition to City Hall.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Mesa tracks energy use at all sites, including electricity, natural gas, and district cooling. Each month sites are sorted by electricity, water, natural gas and district cooling usage.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Annually Mesa calculates EUI for City Buildings. This is used to identify good candidates for energy efficiency projects.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The City of Miami is a partner with Miami Dade County on the Building Efficiency 305 (BE305) initiative which is part of the City Energy Project. The program requires public and private buildings over 20K square feet to report and share publicly their energy usage data via EnergyStar Portfolio Manager. The program has a phased implementation plan but the City intends to have all City-owned properties 20,000 sq ft have their data publicly available by 2020. Miami is also working to pass a benchmarking ordinance that would require buildings to benchmark in 2021 and data would be publicly disclosed in 2022.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
While we could not confirm if Miami has a comprehensive retrofit policy, the city has retrocommissioned most of its top energy users.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
In Milwaukee, all municipal buildings are benchmarked and then exported to Energy Star Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
Milwaukee has implemented HVAC and lighting retrofits in many public buildings. The city has contracted with Edison Energy and has completed work on a Preliminary Energy Reduction Study which provides the foundation of the Comprehensive Energy Plan. The city recently wrapped up a $2 million ESPC and has completed a comprehensive energy assessment of all municipal buildings.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Minneapolis has been using energy management software, EnergyCAP, since 2007. Minneapolis Ordinance 47-190 requires benchmarking of city buildings of 25,000 square feet or more. 100% of the square feet of City-owned buildings is benchmarked in EnergyCAP, buildings over 25,000 square feet are also benchmarked in Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Using data from EnergyCAP, the city prioritizes retrofit opportunities. Most recent retrofits of buildings larger than 25,000 square feet have been extensive retrofits (all lighting, HVAC, etc.). This software’s dashboard allows the City’s energy manager to strategize comprehensive retrofits by prioritizing buildings consuming the most energy and operating the least efficiently. Through the software, the City has avoided energy costs of $8 million over the past 6 years - an annual savings of 13% of the total energy/utility costs.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
Montgomery County has benchmarked all county buildings using EnergyCAP software. The 2018 Green Government Report states that the county is implementing a multi-year plan to invest more than $120 million in facilities through energy performance contacting. The Green Government Report presents efficiency project data for both completed and planned projects. From fiscal years 2013 through 2018, energy use has dropped approximately 19%.
Public Workforce Commuting
Montgomery County offers a telework program for public employees.
Last updated: December 2019
Building Benchmarking
Nashville’s Department of General Services (DGS) manages and benchmarks all facilities in the city's new Energy Management System.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
The City of Nashville is launching an energy revolving fund to assist with investing in funding facility retrofits targeting the lowest-performing facilities to support legislation requiring a minimum of 20% energy reduction in municipal facilities. DGS retrofits buildings by doing pre and post-commissioning followed by test and balance. Nashville is planning for an energy retrofit program across at least 9% of metro government-owned buildings by square footage between 2021 and 2024, prioritizing buildings that have core systems and equipment nearing the end of their useful lives, with a goal of achieving at least 20% reductions in average energy and greenhouse gas emissions, as measured in BTUs; and a LEED Zero retrofit program across at least 12.5% of metro government-owned buildings by square footage between 2026 and 2032.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding New Haven’s benchmarking practices, but the City's Climate and Sustainability Framework states the intent to create a benchmarking program.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in New Haven, but a retrofit strategy is listed as a goal in the City's Climate and Sustainability Framework.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
New Orleans completed a three-year project to benchmark the city’s buildings and began to implement upgrades starting in 2017. As of 2019, the City has benchmarked 100% of public buildings. The city is now using Wego Wise to continue to track this information.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
New Orleans conducted ASHRAE Level 1 audits of 17 facilities to advise the city on the next steps for an overall energy management strategy. The findings of this report were released publicly at Greenbuild in New Orleans in October of 2014. The City implemented no- to low-cost upgrades on dozens of public buildings, including operational optimization, in order to improve energy efficiency. One building (new construction) saw a 50% reduction in its energy use after these changes. Audits, work scopes and budgets were prepared on 17 high-priority buildings, and we are seeking private funding to cover the cost of the retrofits, in combination with accessing utility incentives. The city also offers GPRO training for facilities staff.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
In December 2009, the city council passed four laws, collectively known as the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, that require energy efficiency upgrades to and energy transparency in large existing buildings. In compliance with Local Law 84 of 2009, benchmarking results are reported for all city buildings that are more than 10,000 gross square feet that are owned by the city or for which the city pays all or part of the annual energy bill. In 2015, there was a total of 3,649 benchmarked facilities (288 million square feet). As a result, 95% of local government building square footage is benchmarked in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. As the city benchmarks additional properties beyond the requirements of the law, nearly 99% of New York City buildings are benchmarked.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The city conducts energy audits and retro-commissioning studies to measure the energy performance of its portfolio and identify opportunities for retrofits. The city then prioritizes buildings with the greatest opportunity for energy savings through a comprehensive retrofit targeting city buildings with the largest energy demands and most complex energy consuming systems. The city’s building retrofit program has completed over 190 comprehensive building energy efficiency retrofit projects to date, with annual energy cost reductions of nearly $10.5 million. Through the City’s Accelerated Conservation & Efficiency (ACE) program, the City invests in high-value energy efficiency retrofit projects in all its buildings. Since it launched in June 2013, ACE has awarded over $140 million for energy efficiency projects that are projected. These projects yield $20 million in avoided energy costs and approximately 45,900 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions reduced.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Newark’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to confirm if Newark has implemented a retrofit strategy, but the city had listed efficiency retrofits through an energy service company as an action step associated with the city’s goal to reduce municipal energy consumption by 20%. The ESCO will perform an energy audit to develop a comprehensive Energy Savings Plan and will recommend energy conservation measures to the City. In 2019, Newark announced that the city will partner with Honeywell to implement an energy savings improvement project. The program will upgrade 17 municipal facilities to ultimately cut energy operating costs by over 30% with a potential savings of nearly $1 million annually.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Oakland benchmarks 100% of buildings over 5,000 square feet.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
The city’s Energy Group conducts energy consumption and costs analyses to determine which public buildings are best suited to receive comprehensive retrofits. As part of the Energy and Climate Action Plan, Oakland details several priority actions to improve energy efficiency in buildings via retrofits. Measure KK, passed in 2016, includes $25 million for energy and water efficiency upgrades in City facilities.
Updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
Oklahoma City does not use ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to manage energy use in local government buildings. The City is currently benchmarking energy consumption from municipal buildings in EnergyCAP, but we could not find information regarding the percentage of public buildings that the City has benchmarked so far.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to confirm the existence of comprehensive retrofit strategies for public buildings in Oklahoma City.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information on Omaha’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Omaha.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The Building Energy and Water Efficiency Strategy requires municipal buildings 10,000 sq. feet and up to benchmark energy usage, this information was made public on September 1, 2018. The City of Orlando has brought their buildings online through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager and Lucid BuildingOS to achieve greater visibility over their portfolio. This enables the City team to better benchmark and manage their facilities and turn what used to be speculative guesswork into data-driven decisions about energy improvements and building management.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
Since 2010, the City of Orlando has conducted ASHRAE Level II audits and retro-commissioning of all City facilities and identified more than 55 buildings as a priority for retrofits, based on a seven-year ROI. Utilizing a revolving energy loan fund established from a municipal bond, the City is pursuing these improvements by investing $17.5M in these facilities. Currently, the City is surpassing its Better Buildings goal of 20% savings, with those investments are tracking at $1.1M in savings and an average 31% reduction across 6.8 million square feet in energy use from the baseline in 2010. The City has a comprehensive team of engineers and building specialists focused on energy management and building performance/optimization. All facilities are incorporated into a Citywide BAS that measures and verifies building performance. Orlando's revolving energy fund provides dedicated funding for energy efficiency work.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Oxnard’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Oxnard.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
Park City benchmarks 79% of its total municipal square footage in Portfolio Manager. The city entered into an energy assessment and retrofit contract with Johnson Controls in 2009 that covered all major municipal facilities. Park City is currently working on an RFP to complete a follow-up assessment along with procuring additional technical training for the city’s building maintenance staff who maintain mechanical and other energy systems.
Public Employees
Park City allows city employees to telework; managers approve teleworking arrangements on a department-by-department basis.
Last updated: October 2015
Building Benchmarking
Philadelphia benchmarks all municipal buildings through EnergyCAP. The Energy Office is currently developing a public-facing EnergyCAP portal to enable residents and advocates to see municipal energy usage across the entire portfolio.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City of Philadelphia adopted a Municipal Energy Master Plan for the Built Environment focused on strategies for reduced emissions and energy use; and increased renewable energy. Through the MEMP, the City will work to implement energy efficiency in its municipal buildings through a variety of difference retrofit techniques outlined in the plan with a goal of reducing energy consumption from both electricity and thermal (natural gas and steam) at least 20% by 2030. Large facilities will meet this goal through comprehensive retrofits that are performed through energy performance contracts, while smaller facilities will receive more targeted improvements including LED lighting and building controls upgrades. To date, 5 of the 10 largest energy using facilities have undergone or are undergoing energy retrofits.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
All municipal buildings are benchmarked using the energy management tool, EnergyCAP, with each department tracking their monthly expenses and energy use. Of the City’s 171 owned and operated buildings, 161 buildings have been exported from EnergyCAP and are tracked in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
The City has a dedicated energy efficiency staff in each department monitoring the City’s $65 million in annual energy expenditure via EnergyCAP software. A major $50 million energy upgrade of City facilities occurred in 2010-2012. In 2017, Phoenix awarded $30 million in contracts to five ESCOs to undertake further retrofits in all municipal facilities to reduce energy use 20%. All five ESCO advised projects will be completed by 2022. The City's budget includes dedicated funding for energy efficient improvements.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Through the Building Benchmarking Ordinance, the City benchmarks and publicly discloses energy use for 100% of the square footage of City facilities.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Pittsburgh has recently contracted with Massaro to develop a Facilities Optimization Study. The study looked at all municipal buildings to determine improvements needed. Pittsburgh is also working with the Rocky Mountain Institute to determine the best strategy and timeline for implementing the suggestions in the Facilities Optimization Study and to possibly take some City facilities to net zero. Ordinance 2019-1995 requires all new City facilities or major retrofits to be net zero ready energy. To support this legislation the City is developing a Facilities Improvement Master Plan,
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The City of Portland requires eligible commercial buildings, including local government facilities, to benchmark and report energy performance through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. To comply with the policy, the City benchmarked all covered buildings exceeding 50,000 square feet in April 2016. The City is now benchmarking 100% of buildings greater than 1,000 square feet that have available data and no tenant owned meters. Benchmarking data from buildings greater than 20,000 square feet are shared with the public.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City's Bureau of Internal Business Services has a Strategic Planning Group that manages a project prioritization process for major maintenance that prioritizes projects that improve energy efficiency. Additionally, Portland has a policy aimed at undertaking any identified energy efficiency project with a simple payback of 10 years or less. The City has implemented more than 100 significant energy efficiency investments in the last 20 years.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
The City of Providence has been benchmarking and monitoring its energy consumption as part of its fiscal and environmental agenda since 2010. The FY2020 Municipal Energy Report will mark the sixth report released by the Office of Sustainability. 100% of Providence’s municipal building square footage is regularly benchmarked using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The City has partnered with the Department of Energy, NBI, Maalka, and EcoEdge to develop a Strategic Energy Plan. The City is currently working to integrate these efforts with the City's five-year Capital Improvement Plan and the School Improvement Plan.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
The City worked with the Department of Energy, NBI, Maalka, and EcoEdge to develop a Strategic Energy Plan. A number of comprehensive whole-building studies have been completed on individual buildings, and as part of broader studies such as the Rhode Island Department of Education’s Schoolhouse Energy Report Card for which RIDE also provided detailed building energy strategies to every municipality for every school building in their district. In 2016, the City completed whole-building-approach energy efficiency projects at five City buildings using $1.2 million in funding from the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank (RIIB), a quasi-State agency developed to help Rhode Island municipalities address their goals for energy efficiency. The project, covering 71,240 square feet of building space, will reduce energy consumption in the five buildings by greater than 40%. Between FY 2018 and FY 2019, 14 buildings increased their Energy Star scores. The average Energy Star scores of all City schools combined has risen 14.4% since FY 2014, largely due to energy efficiency upgrades and HVAC control retro-commissioning completed in the buildings. The city has a full-time energy manager who manages the city’s energy efficiency work.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Provo’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Provo.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The Engineering Services Department, Facilities and Operations Division utilizes Periscope, an energy management software and dashboard to internally present electric energy consumption and cost information in a comprehensible and comparative format for over 95 percent of the City’s electric utility bills. The Facilities and Operations Division is in the process of finalizing dashboards for internal stakeholders to view consumption and cost information.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City's Capital Improvement Program analyzes major facility and equipment needs, establishes priorities, estimates fiscal resources, and schedules the development of funded projects. The Raleigh Community Climate Action Plan also contains strategies regarding benchmarking, energy audits, and retrofits.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Reno benchmarks all occupied municipal buildings. Reno's Energy Benchmarking, Reporting, and Transparency Ordinance requires city buildings over 10,000 square feet and fire stations to benchmark energy use.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a retrofit strategy in Reno.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Richmond annually benchmarks 100% of municipal facilities over 5,000 square feet and discloses data through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Richmond tracks energy usage in all city-owned facilities and monitors the energy usage intensity (EUI-normalized energy per square foot) on a monthly basis for benchmarking, energy efficiency, and executive decision-making purposes.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
Richmond has audited approximately 40 of its worst performing buildings, which are currently undertaking improvements. Significant energy efficiency investments have been made in the City Jail, which was renovated into a LEED Gold Justice Center. In addition, City Hall, court buildings, city libraries, and city fire stations have also been renovated for efficiency. The Department of Public works takes a strategic approach to group relamping and upgrading facilities to LED lighting on a project by project basis.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Starting in 2018, the State of California requires building owners with buildings 50,000 SF and larger to submit the energy use of their buildings to the California Energy Commission Annually. Riverside does report energy use in all municipal buildings 50,000 square feet or larger but does not complete the full energy benchmarking at this time.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The City’s retrofit strategy is to identify buildings/equipment that are aging, in need of major repair, continually generating repair orders that are above industry normal standard, or typically energy inefficient. After identifying these projects, staff makes the repairs and seeks energy efficient replacement components a funding becomes available. The goal is to replace individual systems as they come up for major repairs with energy efficient and sustainable equipment and products.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The City uses EnergySTAR Portfolio Manager to track energy use for municipal facilities, however we could not confirm the percentage of city buildings that have been benchmarked.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
Rochester committed to the US Department of Energy’s Better Buildings challenge (BBC) for its portfolio of buildings. The City pledged approximately 4 million square feet of buildings in the BBC. The goal of the BBC is a 20% energy use intensity reduction in municipal infrastructure by 2020. In addition to achieving the DOE BBC challenge goals, the City is finalizing the scope of a Flex Tech Study which approved and funded, would identify municipal facilities that would be selected for energy efficiency upgrades which may include comprehensive efficiency retrofits.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Sacramento annually benchmarks city facilities, accounting for approximately 92% of square footage.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
Sacramento's Climate Action Plan states that the city shall promote the retrofitting of existing structures with green building technologies and practices. The City’s Energy Efficiency Retrofits program for City facilities is designed to provide better facility systems performance with higher efficiencies, resulting in reduced energy costs and maximizing return on investment. The current and future program builds on past success and partnerships with SMUD in greening the City’s facilities. By identifying cost-effective improvements to existing facilities in heating/cooling, lighting, pumping systems, and other facility components, the City can both reduce energy usage and GHG emissions in a cost-effective manner. The City also has an Energy Reinvestment Program, which focuses on energy-reducing and clean energy projects at City-owned facilities. Measure U funding will be utilized to update current lighting with higher-quality LED lighting and controls that save energy, reduce maintenance costs, and will provide enhanced lighting quality at community centers, clubhouses, and Sacramento Libraries. The City of Sacramento contracted with Siemens to conduct an Investment Grade Audit of multiple city facilities. In 2017, the City secured $1.5 million to implement retrofit recommendations through a phased approach using a SMUD program. In 2019, Sacramento completed retrofits in over 40 municipal buildings. The City's energy reinvestment fund provides a dedicated source of funding to invest in efficiency projects.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Saint Paul benchmarks energy use in 100% of municipal facilities over 10,000 square feet, and data is monitored quarterly. Saint Paul has 116 sites entered into B3. Of those sites, 111 have complete data.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
In 2009, Saint Paul allocated $1 million for an internal revolving loan fund that departments could borrow from to make energy efficient improvements to City buildings. In 2019 the loan fund was increased to $5 million. The City has conducted audits of facilities over 25,000 square feet and high-energy-use buildings have been prioritized. Retrofits and improvements are underway.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
Salt Lake City currently benchmarks 100% of all of its Tier 1-3 facilities, which the City defines as greater than 3,000 square feet.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
This City’s Energy Management Executive Order, requires the establishment of an energy audit program to prioritize energy-saving projects as well as a strategic plan for retrocommissioning at least every ten years in addition to continuous re-tuning.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Although a benchmarking policy is not in place, San Antonio benchmarks 100% of its municipal buildings.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
The City’s Energy Efficiency Fund allows the Office of Sustainability to analyze utility bills, engineering assessments, and historical facilities knowledge to select energy projects annually that will have the greatest impact on energy reductions. These project’s financial energy savings as well as utility rebates are rolled back into the fund to pay for future energy retrofit projects. Between FY11-19, the EEF has completed 414 projects, saved $1.6M, reduced energy usage by 13.2%, and reduced CO2 emissions by 58,000 metric tons.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
In the City of San Diego, energy use is monitored and benchmarked using a Smart Energy Management and Monitoring System, the City is in the process of compiling municipal assets into Portfolio Manager. Currently, 747 properties have been entered into Portfolio Manager and are actively being updated. The DOE’s Better Buildings Challenge requires the City to benchmark and report 80% of its building portfolio’s total square footage on an annual basis. In addition, the City is working on the Smart City Open Urban Platform (SCOUP). SCOUP will automatically track, benchmark, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use across the City's Municipal facilities.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The Climate Action Plan directed the City to create a Municipal Energy Strategy, which they completed in 2020. The strategy included a comprehensive retrofit strategy for public buildings along with opportunities to integrate renewable energy installations and other clean technologies. The City is drafting the Municipal Energy Strategy Implementation Plan in 2021.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
San Francisco benchmarks 100% of municipal buildings. The Existing Commercial Buildings Energy Performance Ordinance (ECBO) requires the benchmarking of public and private (non-residential) buildings of more than 10,000 square feet, using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. The ordinance requires disclosure of the ENERGY STAR score or the energy usage intensity if a score is not available. The 2017 Energy Benchmark Report for Municipal Buildings complies with the ECBO, and voluntarily includes all buildings with non-trivial energy use, regardless of size. The smallest benchmarked municipal building is the Cow Hollow Clubhouse at 675 square feet.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Retrofitting is accounted for annually through budgeting for energy efficiency, by the SFPUC, with retrofits prioritized based on total energy use and other key factors. With the entire municipal portfolio benchmarked annually, the city uses this data to retrofit on the basis of capital budget, utility (SFPUC) efficiency budget, and maintenance status. The city dedicates energy efficiency funding in its annual budget.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
Through its new Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance, the City is required to benchmark and disclose data on municipal buildings that are 15,000 square feet or larger. This totals 85% of municipal square footage. San José currently benchmarks 79% of its municipal buildings over 10,000 square feet.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
The city contracted with an ESCO provider to help identify and implement energy efficiency efforts on municipal buildings, and the ESCO agreement scope of work was completed in 2019. The passage of the Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance will provide an opportunity to create a retrocommissioning strategy once portfolio-wide findings are complete. Additionally, one- and five-year Capital Improvement Plans for city facilities managed by the Public Works Department are being developed and will include energy efficiency projects as appropriate. Energy efficiency principles have been incorporated into existing workflows and programs. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning projects completed at the Shirakawa Community Center and the San José Museum of Art utilized energy efficient equipment to replace inefficient and troublesome end-of-life equipment. This upgrade work will continue through the City's Deferred Maintenance Infrastructure Backlog (DMIB) program.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding San Juan’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in San Juan.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Seattle benchmarks approximately 90% of municipal buildings over 5,000 square feet. Data is disclosed publicly, updated monthly, and analyzed annually.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Since 2011, through a Mayor's announcement, Seattle has had a goal to achieve 20% energy savings in municipal buildings by 2020 from a 2008 baseline. A citywide Resource Conservation Management Plan (RCMP), adopted by City Council Resolution 31491 in December 2013. The 2013 Resource Conservation Management Plan includes continued capital and operations improvement strategies, along with ongoing building analyses to identify future opportunities. As part of that plan, $3 million is dedicated to capital energy efficiency projects in 14 facilities in 2015-2016, with additional funding for operations improvements and measurement and verification. Mayor’s Climate Strategy includes a commitment from the Mayor for the City to double its budget allocation from 2021 to 2025 and set a new target to achieve an overall 40 percent energy and carbon emissions reduction in municipal buildings by 2025. Since 2015, the city has completed approximately 50 energy efficiency projects and goal tracking indicates a 22% decrease in site energy use.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Springfield’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Springfield.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
St. Louis currently benchmarks 19.5% of municipal buildings. The City benchmarks 16 properties 50,000 square feet or larger that are subject to the City's benchmarking ordinance.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
We were unable to find information on a comprehensive retrofit strategy in St. Louis.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
St. Petersburg benchmarks all eligible municipal buildings using Portfolio Manager.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Funding was approved by Mayor and City Council in 2016 for energy efficiency retrofits, with projects underway in 2018. According to the webpage of the City's Office of Sustainability & Resiliency, a partnership with USF Clean Energy Research Center was created to conduct initial energy efficiency and retrofit analysis to result in immediate retrofit projects. St. Pete uses utility billing data, along with building characteristics and equity considerations, to select sites for retrofits. Projects are funded through various streams, including the new $2 million revolving funds (Revolving Energy Investment Fund or REIF)
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Stockton’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Stockton.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Syracuse benchmarks energy use in all municipal facilities.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Syracuse.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Tampa’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Tampa.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Toledo’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Toledo.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Tucson’s benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Tucson.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Tulsa does not currently benchmark energy use in municipal buildings.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Tulsa.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
The City uses EnergyCAP software to benchmark and review municipal facilities' energy use.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
Virginia Beach uses a variety of retrofit methods, including in-house staff, contracting, and performance contracting.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking and Retrofitting
DC benchmarks all municipal buildings. The District requires all privately-owned buildings over 50,000 square feet, and District-owned or District instrumentality-owned buildings 10,000 square feet and larger to benchmark their energy & water use annually. For more information on benchmarking requirements for private buildings, please see the Buildings Policies section of the Local Policy Database.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
Sustainable DC 2.0 calls on District Government to “retrofit and maintain all buildings owned by District Government to reduce energy use by 50% and maximize the installation of renewable energy technology.” Action EB.9 in the Clean Energy DC plan (released August 2018 and beginning implementation in 2019) calls on District government to lead in an aggressive deep energy retrofit program, followed by a net-zero retrofit program. Specifically the plan recommends phasing in an aggressive governmental building retrofit program over time, beginning with a deep energy retrofit process that covers 9% of District Government-owned buildings by square footage between 2021 and 2024, striving for an average of at least 30% reductions in energy and emissions, recognizing that that circumstances will vary by building, and different levels of reductions will be financially feasible and technically viable for different buildings. Following this initial sweep of deep energy retrofits, the plan calls for net-zero retrofits across 12.5% of the District Government building stock between 2026 and 2032. The District’s Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act requires the District’s Department of General Services to complete the strategic energy management plan for reducing both energy & water use across their portfolio of government buildings by 2020, and codifies the 9% and 2.5% targets recommended by the Clean Energy DC Plan. In 2020, the District began its launch of an Energy Savings Agreement (ESA) with an initial list of DC Public School pilot sites, targeting efficiency and water savings.
Last updated: May 2021
Building Benchmarking
We were unable to find information regarding Wichita's benchmarking practices.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Wichita.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Winston-Salem produces an annual greenhouse gas report that provides information on energy use in selected municipal facilities that total 1,212,675 square feet, about 32% of the total square footage of city facilities.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategy
We were unable to find information regarding a comprehensive retrofit strategy in Winston-Salem. The City of Winston-Salem employs an Energy Management Coordinator as part of the Office of Sustainability. This position oversees energy use and efficiency across all city facilities, including street lights.
Last updated: June 2021
Building Benchmarking
Worcester benchmarks all municipal energy use through a MassEnergyInsight tool.
Comprehensive Retrofit Strategies
The City has been using an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) since 2010 to conduct comprehensive retrofits across its 92 buildings. From 2019 to 2020, the city's ESPC made upgrades to lighting, heating boilers, HVAC controls, and solar thermal systems, as well as other energy efficiency upgrades. The city was awared a 2019 Green Community Action Grant to complete lighting retrofits in a senior center and to replace distribution transformers in a school. In 2020, Worcester signed a Technical Energy Audit and Project Development and Energy Management Services Agreement for further energy conservation measures.
Last updated: June 2021