BuildingRating

Sharing Transparency for a More Efficient Future

Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, photo by David Reilly
Policy Description:

One of the first actions by Mayor Michael Nutter upon his election in 2008 was to create the Mayor's Office of Sustainability. This body spearheaded the development of Greenworks Philadelphia, an ambitious plan to improve the city’s energy, environment, equity, economy, and engagement with the goal of becoming the greenest city in America by 2015. In light of these plans, advocacy groups like the Coalition for an Energy Efficient Philadelphia and the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub began working with the city on benchmarking requirements. On May 17, 2012, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown introduced Bill No. 120428, mandating that all large commercial buildings in Philadelphia benchmark and disclose their energy and water use. The ordinance was adopted as § 9-3402 of the Philadelphia Code. In March of 2015 the Philidelphia City Council voted unanimously to amend § 9-3402 to include multifamily buildings over 50,000 square feet.

Enacted Date:
2012
Authority in Charge:
Office of Sustainability
Tool Name:
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
Relevant Links:
Building Types Affected Size Compliance Deadline
Non-Residential, Public/Government Greater Than or Equal To 50,000 Sq. Feet 2013-11-01
Multi-Family Greater Than or Equal To 50,000 Sq. Feet 2016-06-30
Exemptions:
a) any calendar year where more than 50 percent of the indoor floor space is unoccupied for more than 180 days in total b) where benchmarking or disclosure would cause exceptional hardship or would not be in the public interest c) where buildings are used primarily for manufacturing or other industrial purposes for which benchmarking results would not meaningfully reflect building energy use characteristics due to the intensive use of process energy. "Process energy" refers to energy used in the actual manufacturing, production, or processing of a good, commodity, or other material.
Number of Buildings Affected:
2,900
Floor Area Affected:
390,000,000 Sq. Feet
Transparency:
Required Transparency:
Yes
Transparency Method:
Public Website
Recipients:
Public Website
Transparency Trigger:
Date Certain
Frequency:
Annually
Reporting:
Required Reporting:
Yes
Reporting Trigger:
Date Certain
Reporting Frequency:
Annually

Utility Requirements/Support:

Utility Requirements/Support:
Yes
Notes:
Owners may arrange for usage information to be electronically transmitted to the benchmarking application by the utility or other energy supplier. Energy suppliers may require building owners requesting electronic transmittal to the benchmarking application to create and maintain lists of buildings and utility account numbers for which the electronic transmittal is requested, and to provide such information to the utility or energy supplier in the manner specified thereby.

Verification:

Verification:
No

Compliance:

Compliance Enforcement:
Yes
Penalties for Non-Compliance:
Yes
Description:
$300 fine for the 1st 30 days, and then $100/day
Compliance Rate (Based on # of Buildings):
90%
Compliance Rate (Based on Building Area):
90%
Notes:
Based on 2014 Energy Benchmarking Report, detailing statistics from 2013.
Additional Program Information:
Water Use Tracking:
Yes