City of Detroit's Office of Sustainability will host a Data Jams Workshop Series to support building owners’ successful compliance with utility data reporting by October 1

In 2023, Detroit became a leading city in adopting the Benchmarking Ordinance. This policy’s first phase requires all buildings, including commercial and multifamily buildings over 100,000 gross square feet (GSF) to annually report their energy and water usage.
Building owners are required to submit their utility data by October 1, 2024, through Energy Star Portfolio.
Energy and water benchmarking is a key action identified in the Detroit Climate Strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
The Detroit 2030 District and the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) are partnering with the City of Detroit to co-host the workshop series and support with technical assistance.
Early adopters of the Detroit 2030 District’s work, including One Campus Martius, Ally Detroit Center, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Henry Ford Hospital, Ford Field, Michigan Central, and the Detroit Public Schools Community District, are already in compliance with the ordinance. Over 700 buildings in Detroit must report by October 1st, 2024, with 50 privately-owned buildings and all 127 City of Detroit-owned properties already meeting early compliance standards.

The City of Detroit’s Office of Sustainability is reminding building owners that, under the City's Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance, large facilities including commercial and multifamily buildings over 100,000 gross square feet (GSF), are required to report their 2023 energy and water usage by October 1st, 2024. Building owners can use the Detroit BuildingID look up tool to check if their property is required to comply under this ordinance.

Energy benchmarking plays a crucial role in advancing sustainability goals for both organizations and cities. By annually measuring and comparing energy consumption across buildings, benchmarking provides valuable insights into usage patterns and presents opportunities for improvement. This data-driven approach helps organizations to identify underperforming assets, prioritize energy-saving investments, and track progress over time.

"Benchmarking is a core step towards understanding energy and water usage by turning data into clear, actionable steps. Ultimately, this is the start of a journey to lower energy usage and reduced waste — which is key to achieving Detroit’s climate goals." said Maria Galarza, Deputy Director of the City of Detroit’s Office of Sustainability. "With this information, building owners and operators can identify opportunities for savings and make smart investments in efficiency upgrades. It's a win-win for businesses and the environment."

To help building owners meet the October 1st data reporting deadline, the Office of Sustainability is teaming up with the Detroit 2030 District and the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA) to offer in-person workshops. These workshops will provide one-on-one support and will be held at the SEMCOG offices, 1001 Woodward Ave, Suite 1400, from September 9th to 11th. The workshops are free for building owners with properties of 100,000 square feet or more, but registration is required, and space is limited. For more details and to sign up, visit www.detroitmi.gov/benchmarking.

"My office authored the benchmarking ordinance to make Detroit a leader in becoming a sustainable city," said Councilmember Scott Benson. "I am excited about the Data Jam workshops to assist our businesses and building owners to become successful adopters and be in compliance with reporting requirements for energy and water use. The data collected will be used to help landlords find solutions to make their buildings more energy efficient and environmentally friendly."

Energy and water benchmarking is already taking place in most modern buildings through building automation systems. Through advocacy of the Detroit 2030 District, United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and other organizations, many Detroit building owners have been collecting this data for their respective operations. Building members of the Detroit 2030 District are entered into the Detroit Energy Challenge, an annual competition to award highest energy savings by building type in the City of Detroit. This ordinance creates a baseline across the entire portfolio of large facilities in Detroit and begin collecting and measuring that data for city-wide efficiency.

More than 700 Detroit buildings are required to report under this ordinance by October 1st, 2024. Currently, 50 privately-owned buildings have already achieved early compliance. Additionally, all 127 buildings owned by the City of Detroit, as stewards of this initiative, are also in compliance. Early adopters include the Masonic Temple, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Michigan Central and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Healthcare and events facilities are also participating, Huntington Place, Henry Ford Hospital, and Ford Field have comprehensive sustainability measures in place that made the early compliance with the ordinance possible. These facility owners and organizations demonstrate their commitment to energy efficiency and environmental responsibility.

“Cultural institutions are critical to the community. We maintain our museums’ utility data through a multi-departmental effort to ensure we take care of our museum for the next generation,” said Leslie Tom, CSO, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

“Our ongoing sustainability efforts and commitments are a point of pride for us at Henry Ford Health, and we are always looking for best practices from like-minded Detroit organizations. We appreciate the city of Detroit’s climate goals and leadership, as we all try to set examples for the rest of the state, country and world,” said Jerry Darby, VP of Campus Planning, Development and Design, Henry Ford Health System.

"The Detroit Institute of Arts, a member of the Detroit 2030 District since 2019, joined the DTE Pilot program in 2021 to track gas and electricity and last month added water usage to the Energy Star Portfolio Manager, ensuring full compliance with Detroit's new Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance,” said Elliott Broom, Chief Operating Officer at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

At the city level, benchmarking initiatives create transparency and support building owners begin or stay on track with their environmental goals and targets, driving collective efforts to reduce emissions and optimize energy and water usage. The aggregated data informs policymakers to develop targeted policies and incentives, ultimately accelerating the transition to a more sustainable urban environment

The ordinance implementation is funded through the U.S. Department of Energy's State Energy Program (SEP) and Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG).

City government buildings over 10,000 square feet, such as recreation centers and police precincts, are also required to report under this ordinance. A map of compliant buildings can be found on the City’s benchmarking website.

By October 1, 2024, building owners for buildings 100,000 square feet and over are required to submit their 2023 water and energy data to the City of Detroit, through Energy Star Portfolio Manager. The EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager is a widely used, free management tool that enables building owners to benchmark the energy and water use of any type of building. Nearly 25% of U.S. commercial building space is already actively benchmarking in Portfolio Manager, making it the national standard tool for benchmarking policy. Data submitted by building owners will not be visible to the public, but a map showing compliance status will be published next year as required by the ordinance. In addition, in 2025, buildings over 25,000 square feet will be required to report their annual data to be in compliance. Failure to comply with this ordinance may result in a blight violation for the building owner.

Upcoming Technical Assistance Events:

September 9th – 11th Benchmarking Data Jams Benchmarking Data Jam: Free In-person event to support compliance. Hosted in partnership with Detroit 2030 District and Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA).

This DATA JAM series is for building owners over 100k Sq Ft, who are required to report by October 1st, 2024. Building owners who attend this event will receive one-on-one technical assistance in complying to this ordinance.

To attend this event, you will need to bring a laptop.

Registration information: https://detroitmi.gov/events/data-jam-series-building-benchmarking
- Monday, September 9, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm: Multifamily Buildings (100K Sq Ft. and greater)
- Tuesday, September 10, 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm: All Building Types (100K Sq Ft. and greater)
- Wednesday, September 11, 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm: All Building Types, including Industrial (100K Sq Ft. and greater)

To volunteer to provide technical assistance, complete this form. A brief volunteer training will be delivered prior to the workshops.

Detroit building owners interested in benchmarking resource guides and webinars can visit detroitmi.gov/benchmarking for more information.

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About the City of Detroit’s Office of Sustainability

The City of Detroit's Office of Sustainability leads initiatives that reduce emissions, increase resilience and improve residents’ quality of life. The Office supports departments city-wide to advance bold climate goals set by the Sustainability Action Agenda and the Detroit Climate Strategy.

For additional information about the Office of Sustainability, please visit detroitmi.gov/government/mayors-office/office-sustainability or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Youtube and Instagram