Washington, D.C. — Energy benchmarking and building energy policy are gaining momentum across the country. As many governments now require annual benchmarking for commercial buildings and set penalties for non-compliance, greeNEWit, a firm driving sustainable community development, helps owners navigate the benchmarking requirements.

As of September 27th, 2015, Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland will start fining non-compliant properties in violation of the Building Energy Reporting and Disclosure Ordinance (“BERDO”). The fine is $100 a day to buildings who do not submit the required calendar year 2014 benchmarking data to the District of Columbia's Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). While this fine can vary across cities, they are consistently steep.

The ordinance requires certain building owners to monitor, report and disclose energy and water usage data for their properties. While energy benchmarking ordinances differ from one city to another, they contain several common elements, including reporting requirements, building type and size thresholds, disclosure requirements and additional requirements such as mandatory audits and efficiency upgrades.

Once energy use data have been reported to the city, nearly all energy benchmarking ordinances require that the information be published on a public website and disclosure at a minimum of the following: building identification, energy intensity, greenhouse gas emissions per square foot, ENERGY STAR® rating (where available) and water consumption per square foot.

greeNEWit offers support performing, tracking and reporting the new Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland mandates to ensure compliance for multifamily properties and commercial buildings to avoid penalty. In addition, greeNEWit offers:

• Automatic annual compliance with benchmarking laws in a subscription model

• Online access to a monitoring platform for your facility management team

• Continuous tracking of energy use to measure and verify the effectiveness of any improvements

• Identification of energy efficiency opportunities based on local rebates and building performance

If you are the owner of a commercial, multifamily or public building in Washington, D.C. or Montgomery County, Maryland, email Director of Multifamily Energy Solutions Michael Santiago at michael.s@greeNEWit.com before September 27th, 2015 to see what requirements apply and avoid future fines.

About greeNEWit

greeNEWit is the national leader in sustainable community development and smart grid integration. The firm develops, manages, and implements net-zero trajectory assets to help make communities more resilient, sustainable, and economically prosperous. By working with residential, multifamily, and commercial real estate, greeNEWit has an expansive perspective on how end energy consumers understand, interact, and engage with their energy profile. With clients that include some of the most successful developers and managers of student, military, and multifamily housing, greeNEWit is a tech-enabled service business in the growing clean-tech space. Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, greeNEWit is expanding nationwide.

Find out more by visiting our website or calling 866-994-7639. For more greeNEWit press releases, click here.