CHICAGO – Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Department of Environment (DOE) today released the 2022-2023 Chicago Energy Benchmarking Report. The report revealed a 39% reduction in carbon emissions per square foot in properties over 50,000 square feet since 2016. 

Since the passage of the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance in 2013, the City has been helping building owners track and gain insights into their energy use, to enable personnel and tenants to unlock energy and cost savings opportunities in buildings over 50,000 square feet. In 2019, the City rolled out an additional initiative focused on transparency, the Chicago Energy Rating System, which made Chicago the first city in the nation to require large buildings to display their energy performance and rating publicly. 

“Chicago is committed to taking bold steps toward reducing emissions,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “Focusing on the reduction of building emissions will not only make a significant dent in Chicago’s overall emissions, but also serve as an example to other cities as we work collectively to address the climate crises facing our world.” 

Building emissions currently represent 70% of Chicago’s total greenhouse gas emissions. With that in mind, the City is taking a multipronged approach to helping Chicagoans decarbonize buildings of all sizes. 

“Reducing our city’s emissions is a process that requires tackling the variety of different emissions sources, with a special focus on the biggest source, which is buildings,” said Angela Tovar, Chicago’s Chief Sustainability Officer and DOE Commissioner. “This is a process that requires a lot of stakeholders and coordination. With the reestablishment of Chicago’s Department of Environment in 2024, Chicago is better equipped than ever to successfully coordinate with and support building owners and managers as they work to reduce their emissions.” 

Key findings from the 2022-2023 report include: 

• Carbon emissions have gone down by 39% since 2016 for buildings over 50,000 sq. ft. The largest decreases in median greenhouse gas intensity were in the healthcare, retail, and office sectors. 

• Buildings’ compliance rate remains fairly high, though it dropped slightly between 2021 and 2022 (87% to 83%) and then again between 2022 and 2023 (83% to 82%).  

• Energy Use Intensity, or the amount of energy used per square foot of building space in a given year, has decreased overall since 2016, though there were some small upticks in 2022 and 2023 in certain sectors, reflecting a return to pre-pandemic norms. 

The 2022-2023 report reflects some of the challenges building owners faced as they attempted to deal with the lingering effects of the pandemic. The combination of two years into one report is also a result of these disruptions—reporting energy use was more challenging for buildings during the height of the pandemic, which led to a lag in publication dates for the benchmarking reports. Combining 2022 and 2023 into one report helps bring the publication schedule back on track. 

Overall, the 2022-2023 report shows the progress that Chicago has made, while also indicating areas of opportunity, which will help the City focus its attention and resources on the areas where they are most needed. The reconstituted Department of Environment plans to take steps to promote energy efficiency citywide by continuing to grow the energy benchmarking program, advance the adoption of renewable energy, and drive forward programs like Green Homes Chicago, which helps Chicago homeowners go electric.   

Details about the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance and the 2022-2023 Report are available on the City’s energy benchmarking page at cityofchicago.org/energybenchmarking. 

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