ESG Alert: NJ Environmental Benchmarking Deadline for Commercial Buildings
New Jersey has recently joined a growing number of states and municipalities that have mandated commercial building owners to participate in benchmarking programs to measure environmental performance. The benchmarking program in New Jersey follows the 2018 enactment of the state’s Clean Energy Act that promulgates the owner or operator of commercial buildings over 25,000 square feet to benchmark their buildings’ energy and water usage within five years.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has recently notified the owners and operators of covered buildings under the program that they have until October 1, 2023 to input 2022 usage data into an ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager®.
New Jersey commercial buildings covered by the program include retail and office buildings, self-storage and warehouses, data centers, hospitals, private schools, casinos and amusement centers, parking garages and mixed-use buildings—even if one square foot is used for commercial purposes. According to the NJBPU, the purpose of the benchmarking program is to raise awareness of energy efficiency, track trends and set efficiency targets, and create a report that will highlight appropriate state incentive programs for building owners and operators. If a building reaches an efficiency score of 75% or higher, the owner or operator may apply to be certified under ENERGY STAR and their score verified by a licensed professional engineer.
Roux’s Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) team and licensed professionals have experience in environmental audits and have performed verifications of ENERGY STAR certifications for commercial building owners around the country. If you have received notice from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities regarding the benchmarking program and would like to assess the environmental performance of your business and operations, please reach out to us to assist you with the benchmarking program ahead of the October 1 deadline.
