NEW ORLEANS — Today, the City of New Orleans Office of Resilience & Sustainability published the benchmarking Covered Property List (CPL) containing all properties expected to comply with the New Orleans Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance. The publication of the CPL marks a major step in implementing the Building Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (Ordinance No. 35,154), which requires large properties over 20,000 square feet to track and report their annual energy use.
Property owners can now search for their property on the CPL. If a property is included in the CPL, the owner of that covered property should “claim” their property to provide contact and other important information to the City benchmarking program. All owners of properties 20,000 square feet or more in building area should verify their property’s inclusion on the CPL and submit a Claim My Property form via the CPL to prepare for compliance with the benchmarking ordinance.
The Office of Resilience & Sustainability (ORS) will host two virtual Benchmarking Ordinance Overview webinars this November that will provide an overview of the Covered Property List and the online forms available to claim a property, adjust property details, or request an exemption from the benchmarking requirement:
- Wednesday, November 12 at 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Tuesday, November 18 at 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
To register, visit: nola.gov/benchmarking.
The benchmarking ordinance requires properties 50,000 square feet or more in building area to comply beginning in 2026 and properties 20,000 square feet or more in building area to comply beginning in 2027. Property owners will be required to report their annual energy use via ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, which allows users to submit their annual energy data and receive individualized building performance metrics. Properties that fail to comply may be subject to fines up to $3,000. Penalties will be waived in the first year a property is required to comply.
This fall, ORS launched the benchmarking knowledgebase, a public resource designed to help building owners and managers achieve compliance with the benchmarking program.
For more information on the Covered Property List or to register for a virtual training session, visit nola.gov/benchmarking.