With big buildings in St. Paul responsible for more than 40% of the city's greenhouse gas emissions, the city will now require owners to keep track of their energy and water use.
Called "benchmarking," the practice is gaining traction across the country as a way of pushing building owners to reduce their contribution to climate change by raising awareness of the resources they consume.
Minneapolis adopted its own benchmarking ordinance in 2013, and reported that energy use in private commercial buildings dropped 5.5% between 2015 and 2018. Edina and St. Louis Park have also passed benchmarking requirements. So have Chicago, Denver, St. Louis and other cities.
The state of Minnesota has adopted a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.
St. Paul has laid out an even loftier climate goal: carbon neutrality by 2050. To get there, the city's buildings will have to become far more energy efficient. In St. Paul, 42% of greenhouse gas emissions are associated with heating, cooling and other energy use in commercial, multifamily and industrial buildings. Residential buildings account for another 20%.
The policy changes will require tracking in about 700 buildings in St. Paul, said Russ Stark, chief resilience officer for the city of St. Paul.
"The idea is that you manage what you measure," Stark said. "The act of taking the time to pay attention to energy and water use actually leads to exploration of ways to use less."
Cities across the country are recognizing that they have to reduce energy use in buildings to achieve their climate goals, said Sheri Brezinka, a regional director for the U.S. Green Building Council.
