BenchmarkYYC
What is BenchmarkYYC?
BenchmarkYYC helps building owners and operators measure, track, and share their buildings' energy and emissions. This helps owners make smart choices to improve energy use and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It also helps them plan for long-term improvements.
How does BenchmarkYYC work?
- Most commercial, multi-unit residential, institutional or industrial buildings on the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager list of property types can join.
- The buildings can be of any size and must be in the city.
- Owners must sign up for the program and agree to the Terms and Conditions.
- Owners must create or use an existing ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account and upload monthly energy billing information for each building.
- Each year, owners share their building energy and GHG emissions data with BenchmarkYYC and get an Energy Performance Scorecard.
- Owners can publicly share their building energy and GHG emission information. Learn more about our disclosure options.
What does BenchmarkYYC track and share?
BenchmarkYYC tracks and shares annual and monthly energy and GHG emissions data about your buildings.
The Building Performance Scorecards includes:
- Site energy use intensity
- Greenhouse gas emission intensity
- ENERGY STAR scores
- Year-over-year trending
- Rankings against similar buildings
The goal for all buildings is to lower GHG Emissions Intensity to 0 GJ/m2/year by 2050. The full list of data collection points can be found in the Terms and Conditions.
How do I share my energy and emissions data?
- BenchmarkYYC collects energy and emissions data between July and December each year.
- Each building must have 12 months of whole-building energy consumption data.
- Owners share their data by logging into their ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager accounts.
- Submit your data:
View program summary reports
- Building Energy and Emissions Performance by Property Type - Open Calgary
- 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 Data Summary
Building energy data rebate
The City offers a limited-term rebate of up to $2,250 per BenchmarkYYC participant. This helps with the cost of accessing monthly, aggregated, whole-building utility data of multi-tenant buildings. This data is needed to properly measure, track, and manage energy and GHG emissions performance.
Learn more about the rebate and how to apply:
Additional Resources
- The City of Calgary’s Climate Strategy
- *NEW* Alberta Ecotrust Retrofit Accelerator
- A Benchmarking Primer (NRCan)
- Energy Benchmarking Basics (NRCan)
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Technical Reference (ESPM)
- Emissions-Neutral Building Information Exchange (ENBIX)
- Portfolio Manager Basics
Contact us
Energy Performance Scorecard
All participating buildings get an annual scorecard that displays key building performance metrics. The scorecard ranks your buildings against similar ones, helping you stay on track with your GHG emissions targets.
Energy Performance Map
The Energy Performance Map shows the locations, property characteristics, energy performance metrics and greenhouse gas emissions of participating buildings in Calgary.
Building energy and emissions data
Each year, BenchmarkYYC shares annual, aggregated building energy and emissions data categorized by primary property type on Open Calgary.
This dataset indicates how building performance in Calgary trends over time, based on the buildings in BenchmarkYYC. All are calculated using the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
Alberta Ecotrust Retrofit Accelerator
The Alberta Ecotrust Retrofit Accelerator program offers free coaching for building owners and managers doing sustainable building upgrades or “deep retrofits.” Coaches help identify and minimize issues during the retrofit process.
As a BenchmarkYYC participant, you’ll get the data needed to apply and work with the Alberta Ecotrust Retrofit Accelerator program.
Learn more about the program and how to apply at Retrofit Accelerator - Alberta Ecotrust.
What is a "deep retrofit?"
A "deep retrofit" means upgrading a building's systems and infrastructure to reduce:
- emissions
- energy consumption
- operating costs
This process can reduce the overall impact that buildings have on the environment.
BenchmarkYYC awards
The BenchmarkYYC Awards recognize the top-performing commercial buildings each year.
The 2024 BenchmarkYYC Awards will be at The King Eddy on October 2, 2024. Stay tuned for this year’s winners!
BenchmarkYYC participants commit to continuous improvement by tracking their energy use and GHG emissions and reporting their findings annually.
To learn more about the award-winning properties, check out their case studies on the Energy Performance Map.
Congratulations to the 2023 winners!
-
Lowest GHG Emissions Intensity, Offices
Cadillac Fairview - Calgary City Centre67.8 kg CO2e/m2
47% better than average
-
Lowest GHG Emissions Intensity, Retail
Goodwill Industries - Beacon Heights Store and Donation Centre66.8 kg CO2e/m2
60% better than average
-
Best GHG Emissions Intensity Reduction
Boardwalk REIT – Lakeview Apartments-9 kg CO2e/m2 between 2020 and 2021
27% reduction
-
Lowest GHG Emissions Intensity, K-12 Schools
Calgary Board of Education - Balmoral Junior High39.9 kg CO2e/m2
41% better than the category avg
-
Lowest GHG Emissions Intensity, Multi-family
Boardwalk REIT – Lakeview Apartments40.0 kg CO2e/m2
47% better than average