ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The City of Ann Arbor is asking the public for input regarding energy and water usage in commercial and multifamily buildings.
Residents, building owners and businesses are asked to spend 20 to 30 minutes completing a survey on the city’s Commercial and Multifamily Benchmarking and Transparency draft ordinance, an initiative of the A2ZERO Carbon Neutrality Plan.
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Some survey questions are optional.
A goal of the draft ordinance is to help building owners find opportunities to increase the energy and water efficiency of their buildings, according to a release from the city.
Currently, energy and water usage in buildings account for 68% of community-wide greenhouse gas emissions, the release states.
The survey deadline is March 5. Find it here.
Named as one of the 44 actions in the A2Zero Carbon Neutrality Plan, benchmarking allows for the measurement and management of energy and water use.
“The ordinance will help improve the energy and water efficiency particularly in large buildings across Ann Arbor. By providing reliable data to building owners and tenants, and consistent information to the market, benchmarking and transparency leads to average energy savings of 2–3% each year, and about 7% over 3 years,” states the release.
The draft ordinance was developed by the City of Ann Arbor Office of Sustainability and Innovations (OSI) and a community task force.
In February, OSI hosted an open house on the details of the policy, which included community speakers and Ann Arbor 2030 District, an organization trying to reduce water use, transportation emissions and building energy consumption around Tree Town.
Find additional information on benchmarking and the draft ordinance at www.a2gov.org/benchmarking.