State of California Selects Touchstone IQ to Support Energy Benchmarking
Industry-leading software will streamline the implementation of California’s Building Energy Benchmarking Program for large commercial and multifamily buildings.
DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#California–The State of California has selected Touchstone IQ as the benchmarking software provider for its Building Energy Benchmarking Program.
The focus of the State’s benchmarking program is to gather and publicly disclose the energy use of commercial and multifamily buildings, information that will help current and prospective building owners and occupants make better-informed decisions about purchasing, leasing, maintenance, and investing in upgrades to reduce energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions. California’s mandatory benchmarking went into effect in 2018. Today, multifamily buildings greater than 50,000 square feet with 17 or more units and commercial buildings greater than 50,000 square feet are required to submit data annually.
After five years of program implementation and data collection, the California Energy Commission (CEC) made the decision to utilize Touchstone IQ software to enable greater efficiency and advancement of program goals. “The CEC is looking forward to working with Touchstone IQ to advance California’s Building Energy Benchmarking Program,” said Michael Sokol, Director, CEC Efficiency Division. “Utilizing the Touchstone IQ platform will allow the CEC to increase benchmarking compliance rates and identify additional opportunities to improve the reporting process and communication with building owners. This augmentation of CEC’s benchmarking capabilities will provide building owners the information to not only track and compare their building’s energy performance against other similar buildings but to take steps to improve efficiency to save occupants money and support California’s efficiency and clean energy goals.”
The CEC works and coordinates with federal, state, and local agencies as well as Tribal governments to achieve California’s climate goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. “Through our work with other cities and states around the country, we’ve seen first-hand how tracking and reporting energy consumption through benchmarking programs is a critical step towards decarbonizing buildings and reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Jon Dierking, Touchstone IQ founder and CEO. “California is a leader in the sustainability space and we’re thrilled to be working together to accelerate their benchmarking program and support their climate goals.”
About Touchstone IQ
Touchstone IQ is a full-service software and services energy management provider. Trusted by more cities and states than any other energy and water benchmarking platform, Touchstone IQ has worked with 18 city and state governments with 20,000+ buildings tracked annually. The Touchstone IQ for Governments software eases the pain points associated with implementing and managing benchmarking ordinances and building performance policies and allows clients to analyze and improve upon energy management goals supporting climate action reporting. For more information, visit www.touchstoneiq.com.
About the California Energy Commission
The CEC is California’s primary energy policy and planning agency with a mission of leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future for all. It has seven core responsibilities: developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy innovation, advancing state energy policy, certifying thermal power plants, and preparing for energy emergencies. For more information, visit www.energy.ca.gov.
Contacts
Catherine Burge
CMO
