The NYC Benchmarking Law annual compliance process consist of the following steps, described in detail below:
*** If you have benchmarked last year, skip steps 2, 3, and 6.
Step 1: Check the Covered Buildings List for your property every year.
Step 2: Set up an account in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® if you do not have one.
Step 3: Enter or review building characteristics and uses.
Step 4: Collect whole building energy data (and water data, if required) from utilities.
Step 5: Record your energy and water usage in Portfolio Manager®.
Step 6: Confirm and enter BBL and BIN information.
Step 7: Check your data for errors and completeness.
Step 8: Submit usage data to the City by May 1 through Portfolio Manager®.
Click a topic, or press the enter key on a topic, to reveal its answer.
Step 1: Check the Covered Buildings List for your property every year.
Properties listed in the following Covered Building Lists are subject to the NYC Benchmarking Law and are required to benchmark their annual energy and water use prior to May 1.
Covered Buildings List for download:
The Covered Buildings List is sorted by the property’s 10 digit borough, block and lot number (BBL). To find your building on the list, select Control F (CTRL + F) on your computer keyboard to open a search dialog box, and enter your property’s BBL.
To find your property's BBL and BIN numbers:
Do you need to report water usage data to the City this year? Properties on the Covered Buildings List with a "Yes" in the "Required to report automated water data from DEP?" (second) column, are required to submit automated data to the City.
Your property's status can change from year to year, so be sure to review the updated list every year. The updated list is usually available after February 20th of each year.
From time to time, there may be a discrepancy between your records and what is written in this list. If you believe a property should (or should not) be on the list, send an email to benchmarking@finance.nyc.gov with the following information:
If your property is on the list, but was under construction or did not have a Certificate of Occupancy in 2019, then send an email to sustainability@buildings.nyc.gov.
Property owners are also notified of a property's requirement to comply every November in their property tax bills prior to when the List is posted online. If you are not receiving your property tax bills at the correct address or your address is incorrect on the covered buildings list, please update your address.
Step 2: Set up an account in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® if you do not have one.
Create an account with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager®.
Step 3: Enter or review building characteristics and uses.
If you are benchmarking a building for the first time, you must first enter characteristics of the building (size, completion status, year built, etc.) and primary and secondary building uses into Portfolio Manager®. You may find it helpful to create and fill a data collection worksheet first, to help you do the necessary research before you enter the data into Portfolio Manager®.
If an account was previously created, confirm that the characteristics for your building (gross floor area, area, year built, etc.) in Portfolio Manager® are accurate.
To complete this and subsequent steps, you are strongly encouraged to study the training materials to become familiar with Portfolio Manager®. Visit the Resources page for additional assistance.
Step 4: Collect whole building energy data (and water data, if required) from utilities.
To obtain whole building energy consumption data for benchmarking, you will need to obtain tenant consumption data in addition to base building data. The best way to acquire this information is to request it directly from the utilities who will then upload your data into Portfolio Manager®. Visit the Water and Energy Data page for more information.
If you are required to benchmark your water use and you have not previously shared your property with DEP to collect water use, follow the LL84 Water Benchmarking instructions.
If you have already connected and shared your property with utilities before, ensure that your property is still shared. National Grid and DEP will upload automatically. Refer to the Con Ed Returning User guide to request data for this year's report.
Step 5: Record your energy and water usage in Portfolio Manager®.
If your building uses fuel oil or other energy that is NOT provided by Con Edison or National Grid:
Step 6: Confirm and enter BBL and BIN information.
NOTE: Failure to accurately input the correct BBL and BIN information may result in the issuance of violations for non-compliance.
Review Step 1 to find or check your property's BBL and BIN numbers.
In Portfolio Manager®:
BBL Example: A correct BBL entry for a building in Queens, with "Tax Block: 234," and "Tax Lot: 56," would be entered in the "NYC Borough, Block and Lot (BBL)" field as: 4-00234-0056.
When entering a multi-building property as a campus, it may be necessary to enter multiple BBLs in the Parent property. Multiple BBLs should be entered in the field separated by a semi-colon (;) without spaces.
Example: 4-00234-0056;4-00234-0057;4-00234-0058
Once you have entered your BBL:
For BBLs with multiple BINs, each BIN must be entered in the same field separated by a semi-colon (;) without spaces.
Example: 1234567;2345678;3456789
Step 7: Check your data for errors and completeness.
Step 8: Submit usage data to the City by May 1 through Portfolio Manager®
Before submitting your report, please review the Benchmarking Checklist to ensure that you have completed all the necessary steps.
To complete the benchmarking process, the City's reporting template must be uploaded into Portfolio Manager® and submitted to the City. Click on the link below for instructions on how to submit your response. If you are already familiar with the submission instructions, click on the reporting template link below to submit usage data.
2020 Reporting Template
2020 Submission Instructions
Once you have uploaded your data, submitted a response to the template, and received an automatic email confirmation from Portfolio Manager®, you will have successfully complied with the NYC Benchmarking Law.