CBPS Compliance Services Washington | Avoid Penalties
CBPS compliance Deadline: Avoid continued penalties or fines by filing your report today!
Get Started
Step 1
Book consultation
Step 2
Create SAW account & portal access (static guide MVP)
Step 3
Benchmarking & data collection
Step 4
Select pathway Tier 1 or Tier 2
- Tier 1: A Tier 1 covered building is a building where the sum of nonresidential, hotel, motel and dormitory floor area exceeds 50,000 gross square feet, excluding the parking garage area.
- Tier 2: A Tier 2 building is a building where the sum of multifamily residential, nonresidential, hotel, motel and dormitory floor areas exceeds 20,000 gross square feet, but does not exceed 50,000 gross square feet, excluding the parking garage area.
Step 5
O&M program
Energy Management Plan (EMP)
Step 6
Documentation & submission
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CBPS compliance?
CBPS (Clean Buildings Performance Standard) is a Washington State energy efficiency law that requires certain commercial buildings to meet energy performance targets. Compliance helps reduce energy costs, lower emissions, and avoid state penalties.
Clean buildings are essential to meeting our state energy goals. In 2019 the Clean Buildings bill was signed into law, expanded in 2022, and augmented in 2023. The objective is to lower costs and pollution from fossil fuel consumption in the state’s existing covered buildings, multifamily buildings, and campus district energy systems. The law also provides Tier 1 and Tier 2 incentives to encourage building owners to make energy efficiency improvements earlier than required.
Who Required to comply with CBPS?
All public and privately owned buildings, which meet the definition of a Tier 1 or Tier 2 covered building are subject to the requirements of the Clean Buildings Performance Standard (except for federal buildings and buildings belonging exclusively to federally recognized tribes).
What’s the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2?
Tier 1 :
- Buildings greater than 50,000 square feet
- Does not include multifamily residential buildings
- Requirements: Benchmarking, energy management plan (EMP), operations and maintenance (O&M) program and performance metric
- Mandatory compliance begins in 2026 for buildings over 220,000 square feet
Tier 2 :
- Buildings greater than 20,000 to 50,000 square feet
- Includes multifamily residential buildings greater than 20,000 square feet
- Requirements: benchmarking, energy management plan (EMP) and operations and maintenance (O&M) program
- Mandatory reporting July 1, 2027
Does my building need to be submetered to comply with the Standard?
Tier 1 covered building: No, a building is not required to be submetered to comply with the Standard. Please review the submetering documentation for additional information. Tier 1 covered buildings subject to the Standard, that are not independently metered and thus cannot measure an energy use intensity (EUI), may either use the Section 5.2.1.1 connected building reporting pathway, or comply with the investment criteria, as follows.
Tier 1 covered buildings that share energy meters with other covered and/or not-covered buildings shall either:
1. Submeter: Report each individual covered building, which would require submetering, demonstrating compliance through the EUIt compliance pathway or through the investment criteria compliance pathway, or
2. Shared Meters: Report as grouped buildings, keeping the shared metering, demonstrating compliance at the connected building level through the EUIt compliance pathway. Connected building level compliance via the investment criteria compliance pathway is not allowed.
Tier 2 covered building: Owners of Tier 2 covered buildings may choose to submeter their building’s energy use, but it is not required. Those that share energy meters with other buildings shall report energy benchmarking data at the connected building level.