The City of Aspen is committed to cutting carbon in the built environment and is partnering with CORE on Building IQ to make it happen. Aspen is joining a growing roster of cities worldwide that are working on innovative policies to reduce building energy use through benchmarking and building performance standards policies.
The City recently adopted science-based goals for reducing community greenhouse gas emissions by 63% by 2030 and zero carbon by 2050. Since buildings account for 57% of Aspen’s total emissions, with 27% coming from commercial structures and 30% from residential, Building IQ is an essential part of the plan to shrink our carbon “blueprint”.
Benefits of Building IQ
Conserve energy
Help manage your building
Identify short- and long-term savings
Support global climate action
Market as a green building
Inform City of Aspen energy programs
Understanding the Ordinance
Get an energy assessment if your building is OVER 20,000 square feet and you have not had one in the last 5 years. CORE’s commercial walkthrough meets the requirement and it’s FREE.
Benchmark your building using Energy Star’s Portfolio Manager. Building IQ starts with the biggest buildings – 20,000 sq ft. and above – and rolls out to smaller buildings in subsequent years. Before getting started, find out when your building is required to be benchmarked in the “Benchmarking FAQs ” on the City’s Building IQ page.
Report energy and water usage data to the City. Covered buildings are required to submit their benchmarking report by Dec. 1, 2022.
Bonus: Building Performance Standards are the next phase of Building IQ. Get a head start improving your energy and water efficiency. Learn more at the bottom of this page.
Sector | Property | Properties first Notice of upcoming benchmark dates | Property owners/managers collect property information & utility data | Initial Reporting Data | Calendar year of utility data to report in there first benchmarking year | Text Data that property benchmarking information included in annual aggregated community benchmarking report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Covered City Properties |
All Covered Properties |
N/A |
November 2021-February 2022 |
June 30, 2022 |
2021 |
September 30, 2022 |
Covered Non-City Properties |
Covered Commercial Properties ≥ 20,000 sq.ft. |
June 1, 2022 |
June 1, 2022-November 2022 |
December 1, 2022 |
2021 |
January 30, 2023 |
Covered Commercial Properties ≥ 15,000 sq.ft. |
January 1, 2023 |
January 1, 2023-June 2023 |
June 1, 2023 |
2022 |
September 1, 2023 | |
Covered Commercial Properties ≥ 10,000 sq.ft. |
January 1, 2024 |
January 1, 2024-June 2024 |
June 1, 2024 |
2023 |
September 1, 2024 | |
Covered Commercial Properties ≥ 5,000 sq.ft. |
January 1, 2025 |
January 1, 2025-June 2025 |
June 1, 2025 |
2024 |
September 1, 2025 | |
Covered Multi-family Properties ≥ 20,000 sq.ft. |
January 1, 2023 |
January 1, 2024-June 2024 |
June 1, 2024 |
2023 |
September 1, 2024 | |
Covered Multi-family Properties ≥ 15,000 sq.ft. |
January 1, 2024 |
January 1, 2025-June 2025 |
June 1, 2025 |
2024 |
September 1, 2025 |
Benchmarking
One of the most effective ways to save energy and water in buildings is to benchmark — that is, to measure and compare a building’s energy to similar buildings, past consumption, or a reference performance level. It’s also the first step to improving meeting future Building Performance Standards. The simple act of benchmarking can decrease energy use by 2 – 3% per year, a modest but meaningful reduction. Building IQ uses Energy Star’s benchmarking platform, Portfolio Manager.
Building IQ Benchmarking FAQs
In addition to it soon being a law in Aspen, there are multiple reasons benchmarking benefits you and the community. Through the Building IQ program, building owners can expect to:
There is no charge to the building owners or to the City of Aspen to use the Energy Star Portfolio Manager platform to benchmark.
Building IQ began June 1, 2022. City-owned buildings were the first properties to comply, and now large commercial properties will be phased in based on square footage, with large multi-family buildings to follow.
View the timeline: Building IQ Timeline
In addition to City-owned buildings that are the first to benchmark, owners of large commercial properties (20K sq. ft. +) are required to benchmark their buildings as of June 1, 2022. Smaller commercial properties and multi-family properties will be phased in over time. If you are wondering whether or not your building is on the current list, visit www.aspen.gov/buildingiq.
Per the Building IQ ordinance, select properties may qualify for certain exemptions and/or extensions. You will find exemption information and application forms on the City of Aspen’s Building IQ page under the “Exemption Request” section. Complete the appropriate form to submit your request to the City.
If CORE is performing an assessment and handling your benchmarking, we are able to obtain your energy and water data on your behalf, as long as we have your permission and CORRECT billing information. Sounds simple, but this can be one of the most challenging steps to completing your assessment. If you do not have this information handy, please take the time to review the following steps and provide our team with the proper information so we can ensure you are meeting your obligations.
Note: Assessments will be completed on a first come/first served basis and a building can not be scheduled until we receive your utility data. To ensure CORE has time to complete your benchmark and assessment, we recommend starting this process early.
Have your account information
It makes the process much easier if we have the billing information for your accounts. If possible, have a copy of the building utility bills available to ensure that you can provide the exact account holder name (name on the utility bill), account number and address.
Enroll with CORE and Accept the Utility Waiver
By accepting the utility waiver and providing the necessary billing information as part of your CORE enrollment, CORE will be able to obtain your whole building data for Holy Cross and Black Hills.
Get Utility Information from the City
Fill out the City of Aspen’s Utility Customer Release Form to receive your building’s water and, if applicable your electrical consumption data and then email it to utilities@aspen.gov or by mail to the City of Aspen Utilities Department.
Note: ALL BIQ participants receive your water through the City of Aspen Utilities and should fill out the City of Aspen Utilities release, regardless of your energy providers.
If the owner pays the utility bills for the whole building, or there are four or more tenant meters the utilities can provide aggregated data for the whole building directly to the owner or their designee. This data is also available from bill copies if the owner is able to obtain them. If this applies to you, skip to the instructions for gathering data from each utility in the following drop downs.
Buildings with three or fewer tenants that pay their own utility bills will have to gather utility data from their tenants. This can be accomplished by the tenant submitting the proper data consent forms for each of their water and energy utility providers. For water and other city utilities, tenants will reach
We recommend letting CORE do the work to make sure your benchmark is simple and accurate. If you are the DIY type, you’ll find step-by-step instructions for benchmarking your own building here. Contact CORE if you get stuck, we’re here to help.
Whether you are working with CORE or benchmarking your own building, YOU, the building owner or your designee are required to submit the benchmarking report to the City of Aspen on their Building IQ page by clicking the BIG BLUE BUTTON that says “submit” about halfway down the page.
Once you understand how your building uses water and energy, it’s time to start using resources more wisely. That is where Building Performance Standards–AKA BPS–come into play.
Congratulations to the City of Aspen for winning Green Builder Magazine’s Sustainable Communities of the Year Award! It’s an honor to be working with the City on projects that substantially contribute to reducing emissions and tangible climate change solutions with action on the ground. Aspen is a leader in the country, particularly for its effort to electrify buildings that are powered by 100% renewable energy and creating climate policy way ahead of the curve. We are proud to be on this journey with Aspen as working partners in the effort to change the story of how we can both live with intention and innovate policies that lead to measurable, positive change. Read the full feature here.
We love our community to the CORE!
CORE’s Commercial Path to Zero is a step-by-step guide for improving building performance. Start with simple measures like upgrading your lighting and adding controls then work your down the path all the way to electrifying everything and powering your building with renewable energy. Plus, we provide funding to help get you there – check out our rebates and grants!
…or just reach out to Mike Bouchet. He will visit your property and create a simple, cost-effective plan customized for your building.
Building IQ Ordinance enactment: June 1, 2022
CORE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to leading the Roaring Fork Valley to a carbon-free, net zero energy future.