Benchmarking now has a helpdesk! Learn more about the benchmarking submission process and chat with experts. 

Learn more about the future of benchmarking and the Healthy Buildings Ordinance from our previous webinar recording and slide deck.

What is Benchmarking?

In Evanston, 80% of greenhouse gas emissions come from existing buildings. In order for Evanston to meet the goals outlined in the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) existing buildings need to make significant reductions in their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In March, 2025 the Evanston City Council voted to update the energy and water benchmarking ordinance 1-O-25, which requires large buildings in Evanston to track and report their annual energy and water usage. 

Report Your Data (Ordinance Compliance)

The ordinance requires that covered buildings report their data to the City on an annual basis, by June 30 of each year.

Report your 2025 benchmarking data! 

Compliance Process

1. Step 1 - Benchmark Your Property
2. Step 2 - Verify Your Data
3. Step 3 - Report Your Data

Resources and Guidance

• Evanston Benchmarking Guide - Step-by-step guide on how to comply with the ordinance
• Compliance Checklist - Two page document covering high-level compliance steps
• ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Login Page
• ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Account Sign up Page
• Request Form - Online form to submit a request for an exemption, Evanston Building ID, building reclassification and pro-bono data verification.
• Data Verification Professionals - Online database of professional organizations with the ability to conduct data verification 
• Covered Buildings

Publicly Disclosed Data from Past Years

The City discloses the data reported from previous years on the City's Open Data Portal.  Please see below for links to data from previous reporting years:

• 2023 calendar year data for all building types- 2023 Data Reported in 2024
• 2022 calendar year data for all building types- 2022 Data Reported in 2023
• 2021 calendar year data for all building types- 2021 Data reported in 2022
• 2020 calendar year data for all building types- 2020 Data reported in 2021
• 2019 calendar year data for all buildings types - 2019 Data Reported in 2020 
• 2018 calendar year data for Type I and Type II Buildings - 2018 Data Reported in 2019

Ordinance Background

Learn more about the community engagement and political process involved in developing the ordinance that took place in 2015 and 2016.

Ordinance Background