The Village of Oak Park | 123 Madison St.  Oak Park, IL 60302 | village@oak-park.us

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Tracking energy efficiency progress through benchmarking

Oak Park is following a best practice to improve commercial and multifamily energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower utility costs through the process of annual energy and water benchmarking. The Village’s Energy and Water Benchmarking ordinance requires that all buildings over 10,000 square feet report their annual energy and water usage through the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Benchmarking compares each building with similar buildings and ranks performance against a national median. Benchmarking alerts a building manager if their building is underperforming, allowing them to make upgrades or repairs and offers the ability to track progress resulting from efficiency actions and investments. When benchmarking data is made public, as it is in Oak Park, it allows renters and tenants to choose locations that are higher performing and will have lower utility costs. 

How does your building measure up?...If you live in a multifamily property with more than four units or are a tenant in a commercial building, it is likely that your building is required to benchmark. Visit www.oak-park.us/benchmarkingmap to see how your building’s efficiency compares. 

Don’t see your building on the map or there is no score?...It is possible that your landlord has not finished submitting data or they have not yet complied with the ordinance. Let them know you would like them to participate! Send them to www.oak-park.us/building-benchmarking to learn how. For more information about benchmarking, email sustainability@oak-park.us.