Building Benchmarking
The Village's Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance requires buildings 10,000 square feet and larger to report their annual energy and water consumption using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
The reporting deadline is December 31. While the 2025 deadline passed, building owners and managers are still encouraged to report their energy and water usage as soon as possible.
Compliance process
The compliance process for the Village's Energy and Water Benchmarking ordinance is simple:
- Register your property in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
- Enter your utility data for the calendar years of 2022, 2023 and 2024
- Share your data with the Village of Oak Park
- That's it!
For more detailed instructions and tutorials on Portfolio Manager, visit the Building Performance Helpdesk.
Technical assistance
The Village hosts a series of workshops to assist property owners and managers in reporting their annual energy and water consumption.
Upcoming Data Jam:
- Wednesday, Feb. 11
- 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
- Oak Park Public Library small meeting room
- 834 Lake St.
- Join the Village for a Benchmarking Data Jam! During this hands-on workshop, building owners and managers will learn how to set up a FREE account in ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, how to set up a building profile, how to collect and enter monthly energy and water use data for your whole building, and how to share your data to comply with the Village of Oak Park's Energy and Water Benchmarking Ordinance. Bring your laptop, information about the age and size of your building, 12 months of utility bills, and we'll help you enter your data, too! All levels of knowledge and experience with benchmarking and energy management are welcome.
- Click here to register
Need technical assistance?
Click here for the Benchmarking Help Desk
- Benchmarking Data Collection - Commercial Properties
- Benchmarking Data Collection - Residential Properties
Why should I benchmark my building?
- Buildings that benchmark save an average 2.4% on utility costs annually.
- High performing buildings are more attractive to tenants! ENERGY STAR rated buildings earn a 2.5% rental premium, have 9.5% higher occupancy rates and have a 16% higher resale value than lower performing buildings.
- Help the Village meet the goals of the Climate Ready Oak Park plan.
- Get recognition from the Village!
Benchmarking background
Oak Park is following a best practice to improve commercial and multifamily energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower utility costs through the process of annual benchmarking. The Village’s Energy and Water Benchmarking ordinance requires that all buildings over 10,000 square feet report their annual energy and water usage through the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Benchmarking compares each building with similar buildings and ranks performance against a national median. Benchmarking alerts a building manager if their building is underperforming, allowing them to make upgrades or repairs and offers the ability to track progress resulting from efficiency actions and investments. When benchmarking data is made public, as it is in Oak Park, it allows renters and tenants to choose locations which are higher performing and will have lower utility costs.
Oak Park Building Spotlight
Have you invested in efficiency improvements in your building? Did benchmarking help you identify any issues you were able to fix? Have you made any operational changes to save water or energy?
The Village would love to recognize your leadership and highlight the great work you've done. By sharing your success, you can help inspire other building owners and managers in Oak Park to follow your lead.
If you're interested in being recognized, please fill out this short form:
Oak Park Building Spotlight form
By participating, you’ll have the opportunity to:
- Promote your building and organization
- Showcase your commitment to energy and water efficiency
- Support broader community efforts to improve building performance
- Serve as a peer example in Oak Park
For more information, contact sustainability@oak-park.us.