Local Sustainability Policies

The urgency that is driving the sustainable construction market originates from policies developed by local and state governments. This section summarizes these policies, including specific rules for compliance, as well as the deadlines. 

State of Colorado

Goals

According to House Bill 19-1261 Climate Action Plan to Reduce Pollution, Colorado shall have statewide goals:

• Reduce 2025 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26%
• Reduce 2030 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50%
• Reduce 2050 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 90% of the levels of statewide greenhouse gas emissions that existed in 2005.

Benchmark requirements

The "Energy Performance for Buildings" Statute (House Bill 19-1261) passed the Colorado General Assembly on June 8, 2021 and went into effect on September 6, 2021.

• Requires owners of large commercial, multifamily, and public buildings 50,000 square feet or more to annually benchmark their whole-building energy use to the Colorado Energy Office (CEO).
• On or before December 1, 2022 and on or before June 1 of each following year, the owner of a covered building is required to submit a report that includes a full 12-months of whole-building energy usage (electric, natural gas, district steam, district hot and chilled water, solar, wind, etc.) for the previous year. 
• If a building is benchmarked within the City of Denver, the City will pass along the submitted benchmarking report, but the building owner must go to buildingperformanceco.com to pay the $100 annual filing fee to be considered compliant at the state level. 

Building performance standards

House Bill 21-1286, the "Energy Performance for Buildings' statute, directed the Colorado Energy Office to convene a Task Force to develop Building Performance Standards (BPS) to meet sector-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. All buildings over 50,000 square feet should:

• Reduce building energy use index by 7% by 2026, from a 2021 baseline
• Reduce EUI by 20% by 2030, from a 2021 baseline. 
• The BPS recommendations, which must be approved by two-thirds of the Task Force members, will be reviewed and decided on by the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) in 2023. 

City of Denver

Goals

Here are the goals outlined by the City of Denver related to their sustainability goals.

• Denver has a goal for all new buildings and homes to achieve Net Zero Energy by 2030. 
• The Net Zero Energy goal for all EXISTING buildings and homes is 2040. 
• 30% improvement in Energy Performance across all covered buildings by 2030
• Applies to all building 25,000 ft and larger

Benchmarking

By June 1st each year all buildings in Denver at or over 25,000 square feet are required to annually assess and report their energy performance using the free ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool. The City publishes the building energy performance data at energizedenver.org to enable the market to better value energy efficiency. 

Building performance standards

Owners of buildings 25,000 square feet and larger will demonstrate compliance with the energy performance targets by continuing to submit their annual Energize Denver Benchmarking Report.

The submission reports the building's annual energy performance (energy use intensity or EUI) and will be used to verify that interim and final energy performance targets are met. Building owners do not need to submit additional documentation to show compliance. 

Building owners will need to monitor their energy performance to ensure they are on track to meet their interim and final energy performance targets and take necessary actions to improve their energy performance. Buildings must be performing at or below their interim target EUIs in each interim target year (i.e., 2024 and 2027) and maintain performance each year until the next target is due. Below is a sample timeline of the compliance process. 

More information on Building Performance requirements can be found on the City's website at https://denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Climate-Action-Sustainability-Resiliency/High-Performance-Buildings-and-Homes/Energize-Denver-Hub/Regulation-Basics/Performance-Requirements

City of Boulder

Goals

• Reduce GHG emissions by 70% by 2030 against a 2030 baseline
• Become a net-zero city by 2035
• Become a carbon-positive city by 2040

For more information on Boulder's sustainability goals, refer to their website at:
https://bouldercolorado.gov/boulder-measures/community-greenhouse-gas-emissions