Evanston Healthy Buildings Ordinance

What is Evanston's Healthy Buildings Ordinance?

Evanston’s Healthy Buildings Ordinance (Ordinance 1-O-25), passed in March 2025, replaced the City’s 2016 benchmarking ordinance. It keeps the annual requirement to benchmark energy and water use and adds binding building performance standards that lead to zero on-site emissions by 2050.

Since January 1, 2026, owners must also have their baseline data verified by a certified professional. Buildings verified in 2023, 2024 or 2025 can use that year as their baseline; others must verify once before 2030.

What buildings must comply with the Evanston ordinance?

Existing buildings of 20,000 sq ft or more (about 500 buildings citywide); condominiums under 50,000 sq ft are excluded
City-owned buildings of 10,000 sq ft or more

Starting in 2030, covered buildings must meet staggered performance standards every five years (2030, 2035, 2040, 2045 and 2050), improving efficiency and renewable energy use and cutting on-site emissions to zero by 2050.

Your building may qualify for an exemption from reporting if:

Financial distress
- The building is the subject of a qualified tax lien sale or public auction due to property tax arrearages.
- The building is controlled by a court appointed receiver
- The building has been acquired by a deed in lieu of foreclosure
Low occupancy
- The building had average physical occupancy of less than fifty percent (50%) throughout the calendar year for which benchmarking is required
New construction
- The building is a new construction and the building’s certificate of occupancy was issued during the calendar year for which benchmarking is required.

You can view the list of buildings required to submit benchmarking data here.

What is the penalty for non-compliance?

Missed benchmarking deadline: $100 per month of non-compliance.
Missed verification: buildings without a verified baseline cannot show progress toward their 2030 standard.
Performance standards: from 2030, buildings must meet each five-year standard or follow an approved alternative.

What is the compliance process?

Evanston owners report through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. A typical filing looks like this:

First, confirm your building is covered and note its Evanston Building ID.
Next, enter 12 months of whole-building electricity, natural gas and water data. Request aggregated data from ComEd and Nicor Gas where tenants are separately metered.
Then check your verification status: if you have not verified since 2023, plan a verification before 2030.
Have a certified professional verify your baseline data when required.
Finally, submit your report to the City through Portfolio Manager by June 30.

Does Evanston now require third-party data verification?

Yes. Since January 1, 2026, a certified professional must verify benchmarking data for the baseline year, each interim performance year and the final performance year. Buildings verified in 2023–2025 can use that year as their baseline, with the next verification due for 2030 data (reported in 2031).

What is the deadline for Evanston benchmarking?

Evanston benchmarking reports are due June 30 every year and cover the previous calendar year.

Next deadlineJune 30, 2027 for calendar-year 2026 data

Your first performance standard applies in 2030, so the next few reports show how far your building has to go.

Evanston performance standard timeline

Here is how the Healthy Buildings Ordinance phases in:

Year	Milestone	What to do
2026	Verification rules begin	Verify your baseline if not done since 2023
Every year	Annual benchmarking	Report by June 30
2030	First performance standard	Meet the first interim standard
2035–2045	Interim standards every 5 years	Keep improving efficiency and renewables
2050	Final standard	Zero on-site emissions

What utilities are required for benchmarking reporting?

Water
Electricity
Natural Gas
District Energy
Any other purchased fuel

What is the purpose of Evanston's Healthy Buildings Ordinance?

Buildings are Evanston’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, so the City uses this ordinance to measure and cut them. It serves two main goals:

Reach zero on-site emissions by 2050. Five-year performance standards from 2030 move buildings step by step.
Make performance transparent. Annual data helps owners, tenants and buyers compare buildings. Many owners also pursue ENERGY STAR certification.

Nearby Chicago owners should see our Chicago guide, or visit our energy benchmarking compliance guide.

Need a verifier? Our Professional Engineers and Certified Energy Managers provide third-party verification services.