What the Law Says
Boulder’s Building Performance Ordinance (No. 8071)
Building Performance Ordinance Program or Boulder Building Energy Benchmarking aims to reduce energy use and improve the quality of Boulder’s commercial and industrial building stock. The requirements move beyond current voluntary programs to require actions that reduce energy use and improve the quality of Boulder’s commercial and industrial building stock by Boulder Building Energy Benchmarking. The ordinance was adopted in 2015 and reporting deadlines began in 2016. Owners of affected buildings are required to rate and report building energy data, and complete efficiency actions by the deadlines. The Building Performance Ordinance requires each affected commercial and industrial building owner to Rate whole-building energy use with the approved tools and Report this energy use to the city annually.
The reported energy metrics will be publicly disclosed following a two-year grace period.
Who is Required to Comply
If you own or manage government buildings above 5,000 square feet, existing buildings above 50,000 square feet, new buildings above 10,000 square feet, or large industrial campuses, you must track and report your energy consumption according to the City’s compliance deadlines.
Deadlines
| Affected Buildings | Energy Assessment | Retro-commissioning | RCx Measure Implementation | Lighting Upgrade |
| City buildings > 10,000 sf* | May 1, 2019 | May 1, 2022 | May 1, 2024 | May 1, 2022 |
| Existing buildings** > 50,000 sf New buildings*** > 10,000 sf | June 1, 2019 | June 1, 2022 | June 1, 2024 | June 1, 2022 |
| Existing buildings > 30,000 and < 50,000 sf | Dec. 31, 2021 | June 1, 2023 | June 1, 2025 | June 1, 2023 |
| Existing buildings > 20,000 and < 30,000 sf | June 1, 2023 | June 1, 2025 | June 1, 2027 | June 1, 2025 |
*City buildings >5,000 sf must complete lighting upgrades but are not subject to energy assessments or retro- commissioning.
How to Report
The ordinance established an energy efficiency program that requires covered building owners to benchmark building energy performance and make that energy performance information publicly available to raise awareness and drive action. As of 2017, the ordinance requires buildings 25,000 square feet or larger to annually assess their energy performance using ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager and report it to Denver. Denver publishes the building energy performance data annually at www.energizedenver.org to enable the market to better value energy efficiency.
What are the fines Like?
Owners of affected buildings are required to rate and report building energy data, and complete efficiency actions by the deadlines. Failure to do so can result in fines of $0.0025 per square foot – up to $1,000 per day of non-compliance.