City Ordinance

On Dec. 11, 2018, the City of San José voted to adopt the Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance (BPO). This ordinance will help the City reach the greenhouse gas emission reduction and water conservation goals of Climate Smart San José.

The Energy and Water Building Performance Ordinance builds on existing state law (CA Assembly Bill 802). It requires commercial and multifamily buildings 20,000 square feet and over to track their yearly whole building energy and water usage data with the EPA platform ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® and share this data with the City. The City will publish a subset of summary data to support market transparency and recognize high-performing buildings across San José.

Upcoming Reporting Deadlines

May 1, 2019*- All covered buildings 50,000 square feet and over must submit their benchmarking reports to comply with the ordinance.

May 1, 2020 – All covered buildings 20,000 square feet and over must submit their benchmarking reports to comply with the ordinance.

*Note: During this reporting period, the EPA may revise ENERGY STAR-related metrics, including the ENERGY STAR score. These revisions will not modify or otherwise impact your monthly energy data. If such revisions occur after you make your submission, the City will work with the EPA to have those impacted metrics updated in your submission automatically, with no action being required on your part. You will be notified prior to this update taking place if it is needed.

Resources for Compliance

• Covered Buildings* - This list includes building addresses and tax assessor parcel numbers to help you find your Building Reporting IDs for those buildings needing to comply. Your Building ID will be used to track compliance over time and is required for reporting purposes.
• "About the Ordinance" Flyer – This flyer contains high-level information about the ordinance.
• Reporting URL –  This is the URL which reporting buildings will need to copy and paste into their browser, in order to access the 2019 BPO reporting template: https://portfoliomanager.energystar.gov/pm/reports/dataRequest/accept/aa8579d1-5950-4a6c-a8c8-dc18f0e1f1ad
• Compliance Checklist – This checklist includes step-by-step instructions on how to comply.
• Extension/Exemption Request Form – This form is for building owners wishing to claim an exception or an extension from the benchmarking requirements.
• Frequently Asked Questions– Having trouble? Find answers here.

Education and Training

Webinar Schedule