Building Energy and Water Use Benchmarking Ordinance Homepage

In December, 2016 the Evanston City Council voted to approve the energy and water benchmarking ordinance which requires large buildings in Evanston to track and report their annual energy and water usage.

View the full ordinance text here.

Report Your Data

Follow the link below to submit your 2018 benchmarking data before the deadline of June 30, 2019. More information on reporting your data can be found by visiting the Report webpage.

2019 Benchmarking Reporting Link

Workshops, Training Sessions, and Helpful Materials

Supporting materials for the Evanston Benchmarking compliance process, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, and ComEd Energy Usage Data System. Find information about workshops and training sessions.

Compliance Process

1. Getting Started
   • Determine what Buildings are covered and when they have to Comply
     • Covered Buildings List
     • Exemption Request
   • Identify a Benchmarking Lead
2. Benchmark
   • Create ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Account
   • Gather basic information required to set up property profiles
   • Request Whole-Building Aggregate Data
     • Electricity (ComEd) - Energy Usage Data
     • Natural Gas (Nicor) - Nicor requests  the following forms be completed and submitted:
       • Landlord Agreement Verifies the person requesting the data is allowed to receive the data
       • Unit/Tenant List This Excel file includes the fields required in order to aggregate a property's data
       • Email completed forms to G2landlord@southernco.com 
     •  Water (Evanston) - WaterSmart Portal
   • Enter energy and water use data into Portfolio Manager
   • Check for Possible Data Errors
3. Verify
   • Have a Certified Professional Verify the Data
     • Recognized training programs and credentials
     • Verification through ENERGY STAR Certification
     • Pro-Bono Data Verification
   • Generate a Data Verification Checklist
   • Add the Certified Professional information to Portfolio Manager
4. Report
   • Generate and review the property report in Portfolio Manager
   • Submit Report to the City through Portfolio Manager
   • Retain your Records 

Ordinance Background

Learn more about the development and passage of the ordinance.