Washington State
Clean Buildings Performance Standard
Updated Dec, 2024
What is it?
The Clean Buildings Performance Standard went into effect in Nov 2020 and sets energy efficiency targets for existing buildings in Washington State. The first deadline for meeting these targets is June 2026.
HB1257, the Clean Buildings Act, was signed into law in May 2019 tasking the Department of Commerce with establishing the Clean Buildings Performance Standard and an Incentive Program for early adoption of the Standard. The purpose of the Standard is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Washington State building sector by focusing on energy consumption in existing buildings.
The Clean Buildings Performance Standard is a combination of ASHRAE Standard 100-2018, Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings, and its adoption and amendments in Chapter 194-50 of the Washington Administrative Code. You may request a free, full version of the combined documents through Commerce’s Clean Buildings Performance Standard integrated document form.
The Standard sets state-specific energy use targets that are 15% less than 2009-2018 average energy use for commercial buildings larger than 50,000 square feet, and requires energy reporting for buildings over 20,000 square feet. Compliance is required on a 5-year cycle, and Commerce may reassess energy use targets for each cycle.
The Clean Buildings Performance Standard is updated by HB5722, the Clean Buildings Expansion Law, signed March 2022.
Who is affected?
The Standard covers commercial and multi-family residential buildings over 20,000 square feet in Washington State. Building owners are responsible for complying with the Clean Buildings Performance Standard.
Commercial buildings and multi-family residential buildings over 20,000 square feet are divided into Tier 1 and Tier 2 buildings, which have different requirements and deadlines.
Tier 1 buildings: Commercial buildings over 50,000 square feet
Tier 2 buildings: Commercial buildings 20,000 to 50,000 square feet and multi-family residential buildings over 20,000 square feet
Tier 2 buildings were added to the Standard by HB5722, the Clean Buildings Expansion Law, signed March 2022.
What is required for compliance?
All buildings must perform energy benchmarking, calculate and report their target under the Standard, and develop an Energy Management Plan and qualifying Operations & Maintenance Plan. In addition, Tier 1 buildings must meet their energy use intensity target or invest in energy efficiency measures.
All buildings will be required to perform Energy Benchmarking using the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to calculate their energy use intensity (EUI), and CBPS Section 7.2 to calculate their energy use intensity target (EUIt). For Tier 1 buildings, these calculation must be performed by a qualified person as defined by the Clean Buildings Performance Standard.
A qualifying Energy Management Plan and Operations & Maintenance Plan must be developed according to Section 5 and Section 6 of the Standard, and implemented at least a full year prior to submission for compliance, making the first deadline for implementing these documents June 1, 2025.
Tier 1 buildings must determine their path to compliance based on the results of their energy benchmarking. Commerce’s Compliance Paths Flowchart summarizes possible compliance paths - either by meeting the EUIt, applying for exemption, or following the investment criteria path.
What are the deadlines?
Tier 1 building deadlines are June 1 of 2026, 2027, and 2028. The reporting deadline for all Tier 2 buildings is July 1, 2027. Compliance cycles are every 5 years.
The Tier 1 compliance schedule is divided by building size:
June 1, 2026 – commercial 220,001+ square feet
June 1, 2027 – commercial 90,001 - 220,000 square feet
June 1, 2028 – commercial 50,001 - 90,000 square feet
The Tier 2 building reporting deadline is July 1, 2027. This includes:
commercial 20,001 - 50,000 square feet
sole ownership multifamily residential 20,001+ square feet
While deadlines don’t begin until 2026, energy management plans must be in place for a full year prior to compliance submission. Additionally, EUI data may be selected from within a 2-year window, so owners benefit from compliance-readiness a full two years prior to the listed submission deadline.
The Clean Buildings Act requires incentives for early adoption of the Standard. The Early Adopter Incentive Program established by Commerce makes $75 million available for early compliance with the law. Owners of eligible buildings may receive $.85 per square foot in incentive. The compliance window for early adoption opened July 1st, 2023. Visit Commerce’s page on the Early Adopter Incentive Program to learn more and contact Sershon Systems to get started applying for incentive funding and submitting for compliance early.
What are the penalties for noncompliance?
The maximum penalty for Tier 1 buildings totals $5,000 plus $1.50 per square foot assessed each compliance cycle.
Tier 1 penalties will be assessed based on the duration of any continuing violation: $5,000 plus $1.00 per square foot per year, accumulated daily for up to 18 months. To estimate the penalties for your facility, download the Department of Commerce’s penalties estimator spreadsheet (Excel download). More information on how notices of violation must be issued by Commerce prior to assessing penalties and other penalty information can be found in Normative Annex Z of the Standard.
Penalties for Tier 2 buildings are set to be $0.30 per square foot for noncompliance. Unlike penalties for Tier 1 buildings, penalties for Tier 2 buildings will not be prorated based on the time the building remains out of compliance. Rather, $0.30 per square foot is a flat fee.
City of Seattle building owners may also need to comply with Seattle’s upcoming Building Emissions Performance Standard, which has higher penalties for non-compliance. Aggregate penalties for non-compliance with both performance standards could total $20,000 plus over $4.50 per square foot. Learn more about compliance with Seattle Building Emissions Performance Standard.