The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) is close to formal enactment of a plan requiring privately owned buildings with gross floor area of 50,000 square feet or more to be benchmarked annually for energy performance and water usage. Under DDOE’s proposal, building owners will generate resource consumption data using the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool, and an online database will make the results available to the public.

The Green Building Act of 2006 and the Clean and Affordable Energy Act of 2008 established the following schedule for private building benchmark requirements, starting in 2010 with the District's largest buildings (over 200,000 square feet):

1. All buildings over 200,000 square feet of gross floor area must submit data beginning in 2010 and thereafter;
    
2. All buildings over 150,000 square feet of gross floor area must submit data beginning in 2011 and thereafter;
    
3. All buildings over 100,000 square feet of gross floor area must submit data beginning in 2012 and thereafter;
    
4. All buildings over 50,000 square feet of gross floor area must submit data beginning in 2013 and thereafter.

Once two years’ worth of a building’s data are uploaded into the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, DDOE proposes sharing the information via an online database. This requirement is outlined in the Sustainable Energy Utility Amendment Act of 2010.

Stella Tarnay, DDOE’s Senior Policy Officer for Green Building, said, “The proposed regulations have not been finalized and it may not be until early fall of 2011 that they have been accepted fully by the Council.” But according to Nicola Whiteman, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Apartment and Office Building Association (AOBA) of Metropolitan Washington, “Even though the proposed regulations have not been codified, they are law.”

Akridge and AOBA have raised concerns about DDOE’s call to publicize private building owners’ information, as participation in the ENERGY STAR benchmarking program has historically been voluntary. DDOE has responded that the public database will not identify individual buildings or owners but will simply “show the numbers” in aggregate form to help illustrate resource consumption throughout the city.

Chevy Chase Pavilion Office Supply Redistribution Program

A new office supply donation and reuse program was recently rolled out to office Clients at Chevy Chase Pavilion. The program allows Clients to donate unwanted office supplies so that others may reuse them instead of purchasing new products. The concierge at CCP collects all donations and redistributes them to Clients who need them. Any unclaimed items will be donated to local schools in need during the annual School Supply Drive. Initial feedback from Clients has been positive, with donations continuing to roll in from office suites throughout the building. In addition to promoting reuse, the program is expected to assist in diverting materials and potentially toxic substances from the waste stream. Any supplies donated in poor condition will be disposed of properly and recycled when possible. The Green Team hopes to initiate similar initiatives at other buildings with comparable needs. If you would like advice on how to participate, please contact a member of the Akridge Green Team.