In 2016, Orlando City Council unanimously passed the Building Energy and Water Efficiency Strategy (BEWES), a policy focused on tracking the energy and water output of our largest buildings. BEWES is a key strategy identified in the Green Works Orlando Community Action Plan.

Since August 1, 2018, any city-owned building above 10,000 gross square feet and any commercial or multifamily building above 50,000 gross square feet is required to have whole-building energy use tracked and reported annually. This information must be provided to the city each year to be made transparent to the real estate market via an annual report and transparency map.

According to the law, Energy Audits and Retro-Commissioning are required once every 5 years or when you score less than 50%, which is the national average, to make them (base building systems) more energy-efficient.

Benefits of benchmarking are plenty as it helps reduce the cumulative carbon footprint of buildings while increasing their efficiency & performance. Complying with the laws also helps examine the quality of operation. All of which if implemented properly aids cost reductions by up to at least 30%.

What are the goals of the Building Energy & Water Efficiency Strategy (BEWES)?

Benchmarking building energy and water use offer consumers, building owners, government agencies, and utilities a multitude of benefits. As a key strategy identified in the Green Works Orlando Community Action Plan, this policy was designed to provide:
• Energy and cost savings for owners and tenants
• Market competition and consumer choice
• Job creation and economic growth
• Smarter government and utility operations

Compliance Deadlines

Building owners of all commercial and multifamily buildings that are 50,000 square feet or larger are required to enter basic building information and whole-building energy use and share their benchmarking scores annually by May 1st.
As of December 2020, operators of buildings with scores under the national average of 50 are required to perform an energy audit or choose to perform a retro-commissioning of their base building systems once every five years.

How to comply with the law:
1- Buildings are provided with an ID, once eligibility is determined
2- A benchmarking leader must be identified. If one of our (The Cotocon Group) experts is appointed, authorization forms will be required from you.
3- As a procedure, the benchmarking leader will share their contact details with the City.
4- The benchmarking leader also creates an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account.
5- As a part of the procedure, the benchmarking leader receives monthly whole-building energy and water data for the previous year, for example, from January to December 2021.

Get help from experts
The Cotocon Group, can help you manage your Energy and Water Benchmarking, save operation expenses and make your building competitive in the marketplace. Our strategic & technical services will ensure that your compliance meets all requirements from compiling data to submitting the energy and water benchmarking report to the City. Get in touch with us today by calling (305) 203-5398 or email us at info@thecotocongroup.com