The Building Energy and Water Scoring program (Chapter 12, Article XI) requires transparency of energy and water efficiency of commercial and multifamily buildings 5,000 square feet and above. Comparing the energy and water performance of one building against another in the same sector allows commercial real estate stakeholders such as building owners, operators, and tenants, to evaluate the highest-performing, lowest-operating cost option, and to monitor their performance in the market place.
Benefits:
- Improve your building’s net operating income (NOI)
- Identify and prioritize future building improvements
- Advertise your building’s performance and differentiate yourself in the marketplace
- Retain tenants and improve occupancy
Each year, owners of covered buildings are required to comply by fulfilling one of two pathways:
- Benchmark energy and water use, and report to the City using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
- Submit a valid Waiver (exemption) request
Want to learn more? Check out our infographic, find city reporting instructions in the How to Guide, or watch our video series:
- Part 1: Overview of BEWS
- Part 2: How to Create an Account in ESPM
- Part 3: How to Add a Property in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
- Part 4: How to Request Data from Your Utility
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Part 5: How to Add a Meter and Input Utility Data
- Part 6: How to Attach Your Fort Collins Building ID
- Part 7: How to Run the Data Quality Checker and Submit Data
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Compliance Deadline - June 1 annually#
Multifamily and Commercial buildings 5,000-50,000 square feet are required to report annually. Each building will receive one 12-month grace period for their first reporting year. No subsequent grace periods will be granted.
Commercial buildings above 50,000 square feet may be covered by Colorado HB 21- 1286 (C.R.S. 25-7-142). Reports will still be submitted through the link on this page, however compliance and exemptions will be determined separately by the State of Colorado Energy Office. Find out more: buildingperformanceco.com.
Commercial and Multifamily covered buildings are defined by ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Row homes, townhomes, industrial, and agricultural facilities are eligible for an exemption. Find more information on exemptions below.
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Comply with the Benchmarking Ordinance in 4 steps.
Follow the How to Guide for more detailed instructions
Step 1 - Create an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Account#
Create an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account here.
- Determine your property use type.
- The Portfolio Manager Data Collection Worksheet can be used to start collecting your information.
Follow along in the How to Guide at page 2-3.
Benchmarking with onsite renewables? Find detailed instructions here.
Step 2 – Obtain Fort Collins Utility Data#
Submit your data request to Fort Collins Utilities at fcgov.com/MyData.
Follow along in the How to Guide at page 4-7.
Step 3 - Obtain data from other utilities#
Follow Xcel's instructions to obtain natural gas data.
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Xcel Energy customers should now follow the instructions in the Xcel Energy Benchmarking Services User Guide to obtain natural gas data.
Follow along in the How to Guide at page 7-8.
Water Requirements
- All properties are currently exempt from water reporting. 2022 reporting requirements do not include water, however we can still update your water use to your ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account, allowing you to track your own usage.
- Not a Fort Collins water customer, but want to add water to your ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account? Find other water district contact information HERE.
Follow along in the How to Guide at page 7.
Step 4 - Report#
- Find your Building ID to report usage to the City.
- Follow along in the How to Guide at page 8-9.
- Buildings covered by Building Performance Colorado can report via the reporting link above and reports will be submitted to both the City of Fort Collins and the State of Colorado. Compliance with the City of Fort Collins’ BEWS program does not automatically ensure compliance with the State of Colorado. Please visit buildingperformanceco.com to learn more about how to comply with the State’s requirements.
2022 Reporting Link (reporting PAST DUE 2021 data) - HERE.
Before submitting your REPORT to the City
- Enter all energy, water, and space use information in Portfolio Manager. Data should be entered from January 1 - December 31 for the calendar year being reported for each covered building.
- Ensure that you run Portfolio Manager's tool to check for possible data errors prior to submittal to ensure that you have no errors in your data submission. The Data Quality Checker time frame should align with the calendar year being reported.
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The Ordinance includes waivers to the requirements based on capabilities of Portfolio Manager and unique building characteristics. Covered building owners who do not submit a report are required to apply for one of the following waivers:
- The building is a "public building" as defined by §12-202.
- Building with average physical occupancy of less than sixty (60) percent
- Building used for industrial or agricultural processes
- Building with confidential business practice
- Building with unique circumstances, if approved by the City Manager’s Office
To apply for a waiver, please fill out the Waiver Request Form.
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Building owners are required to report if the building footprint is equal to or greater than 5,000 SF. Building owner includes any person or entity including common interest ownership groups that have a legal or equitable interest in real property and the associated asset features of the building(s) located on the parcel. Review Fort Collins Building Scenarios to learn if you are required to report.
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The Building Energy and Water Scoring program is enforceable under Sec 12-207 of the Fort Collins Municipal Code (including a $3,000 fine for each year of noncompliance), and the failure to comply in any calendar year shall constitute a single violation in that calendar year. Fort Collins staff will send out a Notice of Need to Comply letter followed by a Notice of Violation to any building owner of a covered building who does not comply within 30 days following June 1 of each year, and citations will be issued June 1 of the year following the required reporting year.
Note that Fort Collins staff is available to provide technical assistance and resources to any building owner to help them comply with the ordinance. Contact Buildingscoring@fcgov.com or call 970-416-2733 for additional questions.
Benchmarking Map
View performance metrics of buildings around town to inform your next lease or purchasing decision.
Resources
Resources available from Fort Collins Utilities, including ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager support and Data Requests.
Data Requests
With the MyData portal, Utilities offers a direct feed of building energy usage data into ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.