Advancing Policy

Energy Benchmarking

You can't improve what you don't measure.

Benchmarking is the first step towards reducing energy use. Energy benchmarking means tracking a building’s annual energy and water use by using a standard metric to compare the building’s current performance against past performance, and to similar buildings both locally and nationwide. These comparisons help building owners, operators, and managers to identify and implement energy efficiency opportunities, increase occupancy rates and property values.

This simple process has a major impact — buildings in Chicago reduced energy use by 5.2% and saved $15.1 million annually after a benchmarking ordinance was adopted.

Building Performance Standards

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are an innovative new policy approach to achieve efficiency and decarbonization in existing buildings.

A BPS is a policy that sets specific deadlines for existing buildings over a certain size to achieve quantified standards of performance across energy use, water use, and/or greenhouse gas emissions. The standards become more ambitious over an extended period oftime, driving continuous, long-term improvement in the building stock.

Every building will undergo repairs and renovations through it's lifecycle — Performance Standards simply ensure that they are done smartly and sustainably. 

Stretch Energy Codes

Stretch Codes are a pathway for municipalities to raise the energy efficiency baseline in their community. 

Local governments can adopt the Stretch Code in place of their base code. These new codes have been developed by the state to set higher efficiency targets and add readiness standards for the installation of electric technologies.

Adopting the Stretch Code would save the average homeowner an projected $250 a year and provide a return on investment in just over 10 years. 

The Illinois Climate Bank has made $200,000 grants available to communities for Stretch Code Adoption.