Improving energy performance in buildings is a key strategy for the City of Chicago, which has committed to upholding the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. This includes a 26-28% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025; the city is currently 40% of the way to meeting that goal. Because the energy used in buildings accounts for over 70% of the city’s current greenhouse gas emissions, reducing building energy use is essential to meeting this goal.

To that end, the City of Chicago is proposing new updates to its energy benchmarking ordinance . The current ordinance was established in 2013, and requires commercial and multifamily buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to measure and report on their energy usage. The ordinance covers roughly 23% of the city’s energy use and has reduced energy usage roughly 4%. All reported buildings currently receive an ENERGY STAR score or an Energy Use Index (EUI) rating, if a score is not available.

Read More (Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance)