SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS

Asset Classes

Focus Area

Energy and Carbon

Topic

Benchmarking

Question #

E3.2a — Benchmarking Carbon Emissions

Question

Are the whole building’s carbon emissions quantified and benchmarked?

Applicability

Applicable to Office and Healthcare buildings

Answer

Enter most recent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity (kgCO2e/ft²) from Energy Star

Description

It is important to establish carbon baselines to enable measurement and tracking of progress toward net zero goals.

Portfolio owners may also benchmark their properties against other buildings within their portfolio to evaluate comparative progress and prioritize asset renewals.

Requirements

  1. Determine the most recent whole building greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity (kgCO2e/ft²) as follows:
    • Enter whole building carbon emissions data under the benchmarking section of the BOMA BEST portal (bomabesthub.com), direct and indirect emissions
    • If whole building carbon emissions are calculated by adding data from different bills or sub-meters, provide a brief narrative describing the methodology applied. Show how the 12-month total use was calculated
    • If any spaces were excluded, provide a brief narrative describing the methodology applied
    • For any sub-meters referenced, provide details, such as make, model, location, photo and year of installation

Documentation

    • Data Verification Checklist printed from Energy Star or a screenshot from BOMA BEST Benchmarking section showing the GHG emissions intensity
    • Narrative of benchmarking methodology and sub-meter data, if available
    • Emission factors per fuel type and reference source

Adapted BB3 Question

New in BOMA BEST 4.0

Suggested Lead

In-house, with third-party support if needed

References

Crosswalk

TBD

Other Notes

Scoring

2 Points

Verification