Ontario's Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) Initiative
Help for Ontario Building Owners
The Ontario Benchmarking Help Centre is here to assist Ontario building owners in reporting their building utility usage under Ontario's Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) initiative.
Owners of commercial, industrial, multi-unit residential and other building types that are 50,000 square feet and larger are required to report their building's energy and water consumption annually to the Province of Ontario, Ministry of Energy, by July 1 of the year.
Visit our recently produced, plain language Video Tutorials for easy-to-understand and accessible direction that follows the EWRB Energy Star Portfolio Manager Guide. Use the handing navigation tool to quickly find answers to your questions. You will also find Quick Tips that address common questions including a special Tip on Adding a multifamily housing property.
To see the types of buildings that should report under the EWRB initiative visit www.Ontario.ca/energyreporting
Why measure energy and water use?
Large buildings, such as offices, condominiums and retail stores, play an important role to fight climate change and cut greenhouse gas pollution.
In 2013, these types of buildings accounted for 19 per cent of Ontario's total greenhouse gas emissions.
Save money by tracking your building's energy and water use
Track where and why your building is wasting energy and water.
Identify energy and water efficiency opportunities.
Gain over $11,000 in cost savings per year with as little as 2.4% annual energy savings.
Get valuable feedback by comparing your building's energy and water use to similar buildings
Did you know?
- The average Canadian office building benchmarked in Portfolio Manager is 17,800 m2 and uses 21,300 gigajoules (GJ) of energy per year at a cost of about $22/GJ.
- Organizations benchmarking consistently in Portfolio Manager have achieved average energy savings of 2.4% per year!
- 2.4% annual savings means that building could save just over 500 gigajoules of energy in one year, representing cost savings of over $11,000.
- Over the lifespan of the building (usually at least 50 years), this could produce cumulative savings of over $300,000.
- Benchmarking and disclosure programs for privately owned buildings are becoming widespread in North America. In addition to Ontario, there are programs at the provincial, state or local level in California, Manitoba, New York, Vancouver, Chicago, Atlanta and others.
