It’s part of a state, local and federal effort to lower greenhouse gas emissions from office buildings, big-box stores, hotels, apartments and other large commercial structures responsible for gulping down energy.
Other states, including California, Rhode Island, Minnesota and New York, are considering similar legislation, according to the Institute for Market Transformation, a nonpartisan group that advocates for building efficiency. Many cities, including Boston, New York and St. Louis, have already established their own performance standards for buildings, and have joined a White House-led coalition of cities and states committed to enacting such standards.
Oregon’s proposed standards, passed in late June in the final days of the legislative session, were packaged with other environmental and climate change initiatives aimed at meeting the state’s commitment to greenhouse gas reductions. The package also sets energy efficiency standards for new construction and encourages more energy efficient public buildings.
The performance standards have been slow to catch on outside of states with ambitious climate goals. In Oregon, the legislation passed largely along party lines, with few Republicans supporting the overall climate package. In Washington, D.C., some building and apartment owners supported the mayor’s proposal to slow enforcement of its new standards, in part because so many commercial building owners face high office vacancy rates.
In Colorado, the building performance standards apply to commercial, multifamily and public buildings larger than 50,000 square feet. The Colorado Energy Office estimates that the standards could help the state meet greenhouse gas reduction targets of 7% by 2026 and 20% by 2030 for the buildings covered in the program.