The Building Energy Saving Ordinance (BESO) was adopted in 2021 and applies to buildings within the City of Chula Vista that are 20K square feet or more of gross floor area (GFA). It builds on an existing state requirement (AB 802) and is part of a larger national movement to improve existing buildings. These regulations aim to lower carbon emissions, reduce operating costs, and improve building resilience. Requirements include reporting energy-use data, otherwise known as benchmarking, and meeting building improvement targets with long-term, phased compliance deadlines to allow for planning. 

Benchmarking your building will look different this year. Instead of submitting energy data using a reporting link, building owners/property managers can now share access to their ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® accounts directly with the City of Chula Vista. This new process removes the need to report annually via a reporting link. Please see step 5 in the "How to Comply" document for instructions.

Need help reporting your energy data? Sustainability staff are here to help. Click here to schedule a virtual appointment with city staff, email benchmark@chulavistaca.gov.

Key benefits of this ordinance include the following:

• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• Helping building owners save money through increased energy efficiency
• Improving the quality of Chula Vista’s building stock
• Better efficiency standards for air quality

Already submitted your energy data? Fill out this brief survey to provide feedback on the benchmarking process. 

Explore the Data – Benchmarking Map data was updated on 8/25/26.

ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® is an interactive resource management platform that enables you to benchmark the energy use of any type of buildings. It is a secure online tool that allows anyone to quickly understand how a building is performing based on the 1-100 ENERGY STAR® score. A score of 50 represents median energy performance, and a score of 75 or higher means the building is a top performer and may be eligible for ENERGY STAR® certification.

The Chula Vista Office of Sustainability respects your confidentiality. Information collected for the purposes of the Building Energy Saving Ordinance is only utilized and made publicly available for the intended purposes of the program. The Building Energy Saving Ordinance data is publicly available on the Benchmarking Map. No personally identifiable information is included in these data sets.

The City of Chula Vista publishes basic building information and energy performance metrics annually for all covered buildings reporting that year, including the following fields:

• Property name
• Address
• Property type
• Gross Floor Area
• Year Built
• ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager score
• Weather normalized site EUI
• Total greenhouse gas emissions
• ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager certification years

For questions, please email benchmark@chulavistaca.gov.