Ann Arbor's Energy & Water Benchmarking Reaches Compliance Milestone, Launches Public Map

Compliance with the city’s Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance has surpassed 80%, with over 90% of properties working towards compliance. This milestone, along with the newly-launched public map, celebrates Ann Arbor’s commitment to understanding energy and water performance for many of the community’s largest commercial and multifamily properties. Current and future owners, managers, and occupants can use this information to better understand their property’s energy and water efficiency and compare their property to others. The ordinance’s annual summary report is also now available. 

The Benchmarking Ordinance was approved by Ann Arbor City Council in October 2021, requiring commercial and multifamily properties 20,000 square feet or larger to report aggregated, whole-property energy and water usage to the City. Benchmarking is an annual requirement, with each calendar year report due on June 1 of the following year. Properties covered by the Ordinance will soon receive mail and email reminders that 2025 calendar year reports are due by June 1, 2026.  

Using the U.S. EPA’s free ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM) benchmarking tool, properties not only see how they perform year-to-year, but also how they compare to the national median of properties with the same characteristic. This allows properties to see their relative energy and water performance at the property level while protecting individual utility customer privacy.  

“You can’t improve what you can’t measure,” said Connor Dailey, Energy Analyst at the City of Ann Arbor’s Office of Sustainability and Innovations (OSI) who manages the implementation of the Benchmarking Ordinance. “Benchmarking gives property owners and managers key information about their property’s performance to make or plan for improvements. Prospective tenants or owners can use that information to make an informed decision when looking to rent or occupy one of these properties.”  

Properties covered by the ordinance can join the City’s non-profit collaborator, the Washtenaw 2030 District, for free benchmarking support. Members of the Washtenaw 2030 District may also apply for a $5,000 Energy Management Grant to leverage their benchmarking to begin making improvements to their property. If you are seeking assistance in complying with the ordinance, contact OSI staff at benchmarking@a2gov.org or check out available resources at the Washtenaw 2030 District.  

Benchmarking is a part of A²ZERO, the City of Ann Arbor’s plan, vision, framework, and associated actions to achieve a just and equitable transition to carbon-neutrality, community-wide, by the year 2030. To learn more about the Benchmarking Ordinance, A²ZERO and how to get involved, please visit a2zero.org.