Energy and Water Benchmarking and Disclosure Ordinance

​​​​​​​​​​​​​

header image
Skip Navigation LinksHome » Departments » Sustainability and Innovations » Sustainability & Me » For Businesses » Energy and Water Benchmarking and Disclosure Ordinance

Benchmarking Support,
Office of Sustainability and Innovations​


Energy & Water Benchmarking Ordinance

​​​Key Dates      |      Apply for an Exemption     |     Covered Building List 

Background     |     Ordinance Development Process

Benchma​rking Resources

Frequently Asked Questions        |       Getting Started

Need He​lp Benchmarking?      |      Set ​Up your Buildings in ENERGY START Portfolio Manager 

Gather and Up​load Energy and Water Data      |​      Submit a Benchmarking Report to the City

Energy & Water Benchmarking​ Ordinance​

​The City of Ann Arbor's City Council unanimously adopted the Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance (City Co​de 104) in October 2021. ​The ordinance requires that building owners and managers of buildings greater than 20,000 square feet benchmark - or track - their building's energy and water use. This data is reported annually to the City of Ann ​Arbor ​through the EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager​ tool. ​​​​​​​​

Learn more about the development of Ann Arbor's Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance here​.


K​ey D​ates​

June 1, 2024: Buildings and campuses of buildings greater than 20,000 square feet are required to submit a benchmarking report to the City of Ann Arbor.


Apply for an Exemption

​Some buildings are eligible for an exemption for being required to submit a benchmarking report. Apply for an exemption here.


Covered Building List - 2024

On June 1, 2024, all buildings and campuses of buildings greater than 20,000 square feet are required to benchmark to the City.​ Covered buildings are estimated based on information available at the tax parcel level.

Properties comprised of more than one building that fall under the following property types may benchmark each building separately but must report all associated buildings to th​e City of Ann Arbor as a single campus

  • K-12 School
  • Multifamily Housing
  • Hospital
  • Hotel
  • Senior Living Community
Properties that are not one of the property types above should benchmark and report each building separately. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Look up your covered buildings and their Ann Arbor Benchmarking ID with the Spreadsheet or PDF linked below:


Ann Arbor Benchmarking Covered Building List - 2024

Ann Arbor Benchmarking Covered Building List - 2024

Building addresses can be different for multiple purposes, so it is recommended to look up a building using its Tax Parcel ID. 

Look up Parcel IDs based on address using Map Ann Arbor.

Is your building required to report in 2024? Complete the 2024 Contact Information Form to receive updates on benchmarking your building.


​Benchmar​king Resources

​​​​Follow these steps to benchmark your covered buildings and submit a report to the City of Ann Arbor:


Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started​

Ann Arbor Benchmarking Compliance Checklist
 Follow an overview of the steps to submit a benchmarking report to the City of Ann Arbor.​

How to Benchmark with the City of Ann Arbor
Detailed steps for benchmarking and submitting a report.

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Quick Start Guide​

 Get started using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM)​.


Need Help Benchmarking?

​​The Ann Arbor 2030 District offers free benchmarking services to member buildings.  There is no cost for Property Owner/Manager membership or to benchmark your building(s). 

Contact the District at [email protected] to learn more.


Set Up Your Buildings in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager

Learn how to get started with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a free tool used to benchmark buildings.

How to Benchmark with the City of Ann A​rbor

ESPM: How to Set Up Your Property Guide

ESPM: How to Set Your Property Video Training

ESPM: Data Collection Worksheet


​Gather and Upload Energy and Water Data

​Electricity and Natural Gas Data with DTE

Learn how to access electricity and natural gas data with DTE and uploading data. Whole-building aggregate data can be accessed and automatically uploaded using the DTE Energy Data Hub. Learn more with the guides below.

NOTE: At this time, building owners MUST be an Ann Arbor 2030 District Member to access the DTE Energy Data Hub. Contact the District at [email protected] to learn more.

Requests to the DTE Energy Data Hub must be made by May 15 to receive data by June 1.

 DTE Energy Data Hub Guide: Getting Started​

DTE Energy Data Hub: ​Login Website

DTE Energy Data Hub ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Connection Guide: Connecting to ESPM

ESPM How to Get Utility Data into Portfolio Manager Gu​ide: How to manually upload data


Does your building have five or fewer tenants?

Buildings with five or fewer tenants require tenant authorization to aggregate whole-building energy data. Building owners are required to request this authorization from their tenants using the following process:

Send the City of Ann Arbor Tenant Data Letter and DTE Energy Data Hub Customer Consent Release Form to the building tenants.

If a tenant does not authorize the release of their data, complete this form.


Natural Gas Data with Constellation​

Some building owners may use Constellation, a choice natural gas provider. Read the guide below to learn how to access and upload natural gas data.

 Benchmarking Constellation Natural Gas Data Guide: How to download and upload data

 Constellation Natural Gas Data Template



​Water Data with City of Ann Arbor

Read the guides below to learn how to access water data and set up automatic data uploads.

Benchmarking Water Data Guide

 Benchmarking Water Meter Tracker

 AquaHawk Water Data Template



Submit a Benchmarking Report to the City of Ann Arbor​​


​Before you submit a Benchmarking Report, make sure to:

  1. Add your Ann Arbor Benchmarking ID ​to your building in the Standard ID field. Look up your Ann Arbor Benchmarking ID in the Covered Building List
  2. Run the Data Quality Checker on your buildings


Submit a Benchmarking Report in one of two ways:​

  1. Connect your property to the City of Ann Arbor to automate your annual benchmarking report. You will not have to generate and submit an annual report each year or create a new one to fix errors, which will streamline the annual process:​​
  2. ​​​Manually submit a benchmarking report. You will have to repeat this process each year and if you need to fix any errors in your report
    • ​2022 Benchmarking Report for Calendar Year 2021: Submit Here
    • 2023 Benchmarking Report for Calendar Year 2022: Subm​it Here
    • 2024 Benchmarking Report for Calendar Year 2023: Submit Here


​We want to hear from you. 

Questions? Comments? Email ben​[email protected]​​