The City of Pittsburgh Planning Department’s Sustainability and Resilience Division has released the first annual energy benchmarking report for municipal buildings owned and operated by the City of Pittsburgh, marking a critical step in achieving aggressive energy, water and emissions reduction goals outlined under the Pittsburgh Climate Action Plan 3.0. 

The First Annual Energy Benchmarking Report’s findings will help to prioritize investment in existing municipal buildings and allow yearly progress of implemented energy and emission reductions to be tracked, creating accountability for the city’s actions.  Municipal buildings currently account for 80 percent of the Pittsburgh’s carbon emissions and a significant portion of city energy use. It is estimated that a 50% reduction in energy use by these buildings would save $1.35 million every year.   

Action steps to be implemented may include LED lighting retrofits and HVAC investments to replace aging systems.

Reducing energy use and emissions generated by existing buildings is critical to achieving the goals of Pittsburgh’s Climate Action Plan 3.0, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030, and 80 percent by 2050; and reduce energy and water use by 50 percent by 2030 in order to create a stronger, healthier and more resilient Pittsburgh. The plan was approved by Pittsburgh City Council in 2018.

In 2017, Pittsburgh City Council passed an energy and water benchmarking and transparency ordinance requiring all non-residential buildings over 50,000 square feet to share their energy and water consumption data with the City through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager on an annual basis.

The First Energy Benchmarking Report is available here.