City of Atlanta Offers Grace Period for Commercial Building Owners to Meet Benchmarking Obligations
Building owners have until September 21 to submit energy and water use data
ATLANTA –- August 31, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — The City of Atlanta is offering a grace period for commercial building owners who missed the July deadline to submit energy and water benchmarking data. The grace period ends on September 21.
Passed in April, the Commercial Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance requires private and municipal buildings over 50,000 square feet to submit annual energy and water use data to the City of Atlanta. The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability expects benchmarking to improve energy efficiency, spur job creation, and reduce buildings’ carbon emissions.
“With this data, we will be better able to analyze Atlanta’s energy footprint and work with the business community to reduce our impact on the environment,” said Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “This initiative will help make Atlanta a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable city.”
In conjunction with the Office of Sustainability, Southface has created a Helpdesk that offers support via one-on-one consultation to owners and operators needing assistance with benchmarking. The Helpdesk can be reached at 404-604-3665, or by email at 
Utilizing the collected benchmark data, building owners will complete an energy audit once every 10 years, allowing them to see how they can improve performance by upgrading equipment and systems. In addition, building performance data collected under the ordinance will be made available to the public to allow the market to recognize, reward, and drive increased demand for high-performing buildings.
Failure to comply with this year’s benchmarking submission requirement could result in a fine of $1,000 per property.
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For more information about the City of Atlanta, please visit http://www.atlantaga.gov or watch City Channel 26. Follow the City of Atlanta on Facebook and Twitter @CityofAtlanta. Follow Mayor Reed on Facebook and Twitter @Kasim Reed
Contact
Jenna Garland, Press Secretary
404-330-6612, office
404-357-5579, cell
Anne Torres, Director
404-330-6423, office
404-904-2618, cell
