Healthy Buildings Ordinance

• Every building is different and will have its own plan to be in compliance with the ordinance. Targets will be determined by a technical committee with a diverse set of building expertise, and are designed to be achievable. All buildings will be able to submit an Alternative Compliance Pathway, which would permit the building to modify the timeline to hit its interim or final targets, be exempted, or other changes, if approved.
• The Healthy Buildings Ordinance rulemaking process creates two public rulemaking bodies, the Healthy Buildings Accountability Board (HBAB) and Healthy Buildings Technical Committee (HBTC), which involve equity experts, housing experts, building science experts, stakeholders, and others. They purposefully center issues such as preserving affordable housing and preventing costs from being passed on to low-income community members.
• The Healthy Buildings Accountability Board (HBAB) will be empowered to designate buildings as “Equity Priority Buildings”, which include but are not limited to public buildings, affordable housing, houses of worship, buildings that house non-profit organizations, and others. These buildings will be first in line to receive any available funding and could have special allowances in terms of timeline or exemptions.

• Many of the municipal and school district buildings in Evanston will be in need of repairs and upgrades to replace aging equipment over the next 25 years. The cost of the ordinance is the difference between replacing those technologies with efficient equipment versus appliances fueled by inefficient, expensive methane gas. Incentives and financing from the state will further close the cost gap. In addition, passing the ordinance aligns with other supply and demand aspects of market transformation. HVAC manufacturers are continuously coming out with new low- and zero-emissions solutions, and the United States HVAC industry invested about $800 million in U.S. manufacturing in 2024. The Healthy Buildings Ordinance would result in an increased demand for clean heat technologies like HVAC systems, as well as the clean energy workforce.
• The Healthy Buildings Ordinance is the most affordable, long-term option for building owners. Even without the HBO, owners would be expected to make upgrades to their outdated, gas-based heating system over the next 25 years. In fact, the main requirement of the ordinance is planning, not absolute adherence to standards. The HBO offers these owners a go-slow, 25-year transition to heating systems that are much more efficient and less expensive than gas-based systems. With climate change effects worsening and state climate goals in place, building owners risk pouring more money into a gas-based system that is heading toward obsolescence. The ordinance offers owners a go-slow approach that gives them 25 years to complete upgrades that would make their buildings less expensive to heat going forward. The most expensive option facing building owners is to do nothing: the Healthy Buildings Ordinance allows them to make a cost-effective plan for the future.

• The City of Evanston has a signed conditional contract for federal Inflation Reduction Act funding on hand, and have NOT heard that funding is paused. The City of Evanston committed to reducing building emissions in the 2018 Climate Action and Resilience Plan and began working on the building performance standards far before we were awarded any federal funding. Our team and partners are already working to secure additional funding to increase resources for BPS implementation.  Beyond the funding alone, we are doing this because our residents deserve a livable climate and healthy air to breathe. 50% of Evanston’s greenhouse gas emissions overall comes from just the 500 largest buildings. Buildings are also a major source of health-harming pollution like smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide and particulate matter. Implementing the Healthy Buildings Ordinance is one of the single most effective ways to reduce urban emissions as well as improve public health, address the disproportionate burden of air pollution on people of color in Evanston, and save lives.

• Air pollution from our homes and buildings are a significant health threat. In fact, these 500 buildings account for half of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions overall, and buildings are also a significant source of health-harming pollution such as smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide and particulate matter. Cleaning up these sources of pollution will clean up the air we all breathe, improve public health and save lives. Air pollution does not stop at the border of property lines.

• The CARP document includes “carbon neutral”, “net-zero”, and “all energy produced and consumed is from clean and renewable sources”. Based on the “carbon neutral” language, the intent was zero greenhouse gas emissions as a goal. The ordinance also includes this as a goal; however, it also includes a robust and flexible Alternative Compliance Pathway process, where buildings that cannot practically or feasibly meet standards can work with the City to determine an alternative pathway.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is an essential goal of climate action in Evanston. The Climate Action and Resilience Plan aims for the city to

• Be carbon neutral by 2050
• Reduce building energy consumption by 50% community wide from 2005 baseline
• Have 100% renewable electricity supply for all Evanston accounts by 2030

According to the 2022 greenhouse gas emissions report,  approximately half of emissions in and from Evanston come from the ~500 largest buildings. View Evanston's Benchmarking visualization. Implementing building performance standards is one of the single most effective ways to reduce urban emissions.

Learn more about Evanston's building stock.  

You can stay informed about building performance standards by:  

• Signing up for the Sustainability Newsletter
• Reaching out to Benchmarking@cityofevanston.org

• Is your building over 20,000 square feet? Yes, you would be affected by this.
• Is your building under 20,000 square feet? Your building would not currently be regulated by the Healthy Buildings Ordinance. 

Has this ordinance been passed? 
Yes, this ordinance was passed on March 10, 2025. The Healthy Buildings Accountability Board and the Healthy Buildings Technical Committee are developing building performance standards and program guidelines for the rulemaking process.

How is this different from the Benchmarking Ordinance?
Benchmarking requires reporting energy and water usage through Energy Star Portfolio Manager. The Healthy Building Ordinance provides a pathway to reduce emissions and increase efficiency in Evanston's largest buildings. 

What would be the desired outcome of the Healthy Buildings Ordinance?
In regulated buildings, you could expect:

• Improved indoor air quality
• Reduced utility cost
• Improved efficiency
• Increased use of renewable energy
• Higher comfort

Community-wide, one can expect:

• Improved air quality
• Economic stimulation
• Reduced emissions

Why does this warrant government intervention?
Evanston needs to rapidly decarbonize its building stock, in order to be compliant with the Climate Action and Resilience Plan, as well as international climate goals. 

• Future of Benchmarking and Healthy Buildings Ordinance webinar recording
• Slide deck for benchmarked buildings 
• For resources on benchmarking and the HBO, please visit the Knowledgebase Helpdesk.
• BPS Calculator

Fort Collins Case Studies

Institute for Market Transformation's Building Performance Standards Guide

IMT’s BPS Matrix

IMT BPS Coalition Map (cities & states who have committed to passing a BPS)

IMT BPS Resource Library

IMT Lessons from the Ground: Implementing Building Performance Standards

Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance Article on the Clean & Reliable Grid Affordability Act

Act (1021 pages)