Better Buildings Benchmarking reporting deadline extended to September 30, 2024

News release from City and County of Honolulu, June 24, 2024

OʻAHU – The 2024 reporting deadline for the Better Buildings Benchmarking Program has been extended from June 30, 2024, to September 30th, 2024. This program, formally Ordinance 22-17, requires large commercial and multi-family buildings to annually report aggregate energy and water utility data to the City and County of Honolulu.

Now in its second year of implementation, the program currently requires buildings 50,000 square feet and larger to report annually. Buildings 25,000 square feet and larger will be required to report by June 30, 2025.

This year’s reporting deadline was extended as the City works with Hawaiian Electric to develop a new process that will greatly simplify the way building owners obtain and report their electricity data. This upgrade will replace the previous manual process with a quicker auto-upload process that will deliver data directly into the building’s account. The auto-upload will be available by the end of July, and the City will schedule a virtual training for building owners and property managers to learn the new process.

The City recently mailed affected buildings regarding the deadline extension, directing them to resilientoahu.org/benchmarking, where comprehensive resources and Help Desk appointments are available to ensure compliance. The webpage also includes a Buildings Transparency Map that displays each building’s utility reports from last year, which will be updated annually to illustrate trends over time.

Benchmarking is a way for buildings to compare their energy use to other buildings, and is helpful to identify energy and money saving opportunities and to improve building operations. The City, after benchmarking its own buildings, has greatly reduced its energy use and saved millions of dollars in the process. See the City’s Annual Sustainability Report for more information.

The City, with the State and other partners, is also developing tools for building owners who want to take advantage of federal funds to support energy efficiency improvements in their buildings. Additionally, residents and businesses looking save money and conserve resources are encouraged to utilize incentives and rebates offered by the Board of Water Supply and Hawaiʻi Energy.

—PAU—