Several European, Australian and American states and cities have been requiring building energy benchmarking and disclosure for years, and have had great success in helping property owners and tenants improve their energy efficiency.
A prime example, New York City’s Benchmarking Law mandates benchmarking and disclosure for all privately-owned properties 50,000 ft2 or greater. Between 2010 and 2015, the law helped cut energy use from over 4,200 benchmarked buildings by more than 10% and emissions by almost 14%. This initiative has helped underpin a massive policy shift leading to the City’s transformative Climate Mobilization Act.
In Canada, benchmarking is only now beginning to gain traction. While some provincial and local jurisdictions are starting to explore benchmarking and disclosure regulations, Ontario is the only province to mandate building energy data reporting and disclosure (as of late 2019).