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New U.S. Cities to Join the Rating Ranks
Guest post by John Andreoni
June has been a busy month for rating and disclosure: two major cities have made significant commitments to new policies. In Boston, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced development of a rating and disclosure policy during a public address on June 4th. A rating and disclosure bill in Philadelphia, proposed by Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds-Brown in May, passed with a unanimous 17-0 City Council vote on June 21st.
It comes as no surprise that the addition of these two major U.S. cities contributes to measureable gains for building efficiency policy. Given the existing mandates in New York, San Francisco, DC, Seattle, and Austin, these new proposed policies represent an increase of roughly 30% of affected commercial square footage (CoStar).
As for specifics on each city’s regulations, Mayor Menino laid out that commercial and residential buildings over 50,000 gross square feet would be covered under a developing rating and disclosure policy. Philadelphia passed similar legislation, in line with cities like NYC and DC, which requires all commercial buildings over 50,000 gross square feet to disclose ENERGY STAR® scores to the local government. Additionally, the Philadelphia policy includes a rapid implementation with reporting starting June 1, 2013 and a requirement that the ENERGY STAR® score be divulged to any potential buyer or tenant.
The Energy Efficient Buildings Hub (EEB Hub) has placed itself in a critical role for the passage and now implementation of Philadelphia’s new policy. EEB Hub is a U.S. Department of Energy Regional Innovation Cluster which organizes the energy development industry, academia, private businesses, and levels of government towards a common goal of energy-efficient buildings. Laurie Actman, the Deputy Director of EEB Hub, has said that they will help coordinate the electric and natural gas utility (PECO), the City, service providers and tenants in order to implement this policy and maximize gains in efficiency and economic development. (IMT Press Release)
These announcements from Boston and Philadelphia further confirm the trend of advancing rating and disclosure policies at the city-level. Given the current political climate, cities are predicted to continue leading the way since the high concentration of building stock and significant tax base allows for these policies to be quickly funded and proven effective.
