CBPS Tier 2 compliance

If a Tier 2 covered building meets one of the exemption criteria in RCW 19.27A.210(7)(c) or Section Y4.1 of the standard, building owners can apply for an exemption on July 1, 2025, two years prior to the scheduled compliance date and submitted to Commerce no later than 180 days prior to the compliance date.

Exemption certificates for approved buildings are only valid for the current compliance review cycle. Within six months before the compliance date, building owners who have received exemption approval must certify that the building still meets the eligibility qualifications for the exemption and that there have been no material changes to qualifying conditions. Commerce will provide a one-page declaration for exempted building owners to sign.

A list of acceptable documents can be found in Clean Buildings Performance Standard, Annex Y6.7.

This is a process-oriented standard with long lead times to help keep compliance costs down. It is most cost-effective to start the compliance process early. 

If you do decide to start early, you may be eligible to apply for the Early Adopter Incentive Program.

• The Clean Buildings Performance Standard consists of ASHRAE Standard 100-2018 and state amendments WAC194-50. Follow the link below to gain access to a copy of the integrated standard published by ASHRAE.
  • Clean Buildings Performance Standard – Integrated Document (form)
• Watch training videos and presentations on the Clean Buildings Performance Standard. Start with Clean Buildings 101 (on YouTube) and explore the other videos on the CBPS Rulemaking, Trainings and Workgroup page.
• Sign up for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) training series on using Energy Star Portfolio Manager for benchmarking.
• Explore the Smart Building Center remote learning library.
• Explore the Clean Buildings Support and Resource page and Guidance Document Library for tools and resources to assist with compliance.
• Subscribe to the Clean Buildings Bulletin for updates.

• Compliance with the standard can get complicated. Plan ahead and understand the supporting roles needed for compliance.
• Tier 2 compliance requires a qualified energy manager. Review the defined roles and responsibilities (PDF).
• To find qualified personnel, check the Support and Resources webpage
• Check out the BEACON Fellows page. An energy fellow may be able to provide you assistance with compliance.

First-time access to the Clean Buildings Portal:  

If you already have access to the Portal, log in, navigate to the Tier 2 Data Pool tab. Jump to the Tier 2 Data Pool instructions (below).  

Step 1 – SAW Account: Create a Secure Access Washington (SAW) user account. Identification 

authentication through SAW is required for access to any State of Washington information system. You can do this here: https://secureaccess.wa.gov. PLEASE NOTE: Use the same email address in the SAW account and the Portal user account. They MUST match. 

Step 2 – Clean Buildings Portal Service: Add the Clean Buildings Portal application to your SAW account. To do this, 

1. Log into SAW and go to the menu option “My Secure Services” and click on the “Add a New Service” button. 

2. On the “Add a New Service” screen, click the option “I have been given a code by an agency” and then enter the code CBPS21 (use all caps and no spaces). 

3. Complete the Identity Verification questions if asked, then click OK on the registration complete screen. You will receive an email from SAW indicating that your Clean Buildings Portal service request has been approved. 

Step 3 – Launch Portal: Once you’ve added the Clean Buildings Portal service in SAW, launch the Clean Buildings Portal application from the SAW main page, click the green “Access Now” button in the “Clean Buildings Portal provided by Department of Commerce” box 

Step 4 – SAW Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): To complete the SAW log in process, you will be asked for one extra step to confirm your identity. This could be an email, an automated phone call, or a text message. 

Step 5 – Portal Access: First-time portal access for Building Owners or an authorized representative within the owner organization, use the Notification Code provided in the Tier 2 Notification Letter. This one-time use code will associate you with the owner organization.  

First-time portal access for Third Party consultants, authorized representatives of the building owner not within the owner organization (Qualified Person, Qualified Energy Manager, Property Management, etc.), require Shared Access permission to access the building(s) within the Portal. Either the building owner or the authorized representative must fill out the Shared Access Request Form.  

In the future, to access your buildings in the Clean Buildings Portal: 

• Log into SAW, enter your SAW Username and Password, and complete the MFA step  

• Then, click the green “Access Now” button in the “Portal provided by Commerce” box 

For more information review the Clean Buildings Portal User Guide.

Tier 2 Data Pool Instructions – Confirm Ownership:  

On the Tier 2 Data Pool tab building owners can confirm or deny ownership of buildings. For first-time users, you will land on the Tier 2 Data Pool tab and associated Tier 2 covered buildings will display. For those that already have Portal Access, navigate to the Tier 2 Data Pool tab in the navy menu bar. 

Confirm Ownership: Click the individual checkbox(es) to select building(s) or click the checkbox in the blue header to select all. Once you have selected and highlighted your building(s), click the Confirm Ownership button. 

• The Confirm Ownership Validation box pops-up. Confirm owner in Owner to Assign box, to select an alternative eligible owner, click the drop-down menu.  

• If you do NOT find the Organization needed to confirm ownership, click the Cancel button to close the pop-up and on the Tier 2 Data Pool page click the Need Help? button to take you to a Customer Support Ticket.  

• Once ownership is confirmed, buildings will be listed on the Buildings tab. Navigate to the Buildings tab, if you are the owner, you should now see the buildings on Buildings list. If you are not the owner, you may need to get Shared Access for specific buildings to appear on your Buildings list. 

Deny Ownership: If buildings are listed that you no longer own or never owned, you can deny ownership to release buildings back into the Data Pool. 

• On the Tier 2 Data Pool tab: Click the individual checkbox(es) to select building(s) or click the checkbox in the blue header to select all. Once you have selected and highlighted the building(s), click the Deny Ownership button. You may only deny ownership for buildings in your organization. 

Don’t see your building in the Data Pool?  

• Navigate to the Buildings tab, to see if the building is present there 

• If ownership is not already confirmed, you can do so on the Buildings tab, Building Details page by clicking on the WA Building ID.  

• If building is NOT listed on the Buildings tab, return to the Tier 2 Data Pool tab  

• Use the Search feature to find buildings. You can search by Owner, Address, or keyword. 

Need Help? Didn’t locate your building? Click the Need Help? button on the Tier 2 Data Pool tab to take you to a Customer Support Ticket.

• Benchmarking is required for Tier 2 buildings. Review CBPS 027- Benchmarking for the Clean Buildings Performance Standard (PDF) to help you get started.
• Create an account with the Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM).
• Contact your utility provider(s) to integrate your building into ESPM. Understand your utility providers’ role in compliance.
  • Utilities are required to provide energy consumption data to building owners upon request. Large utilities (greater than 25,000 customers) are required to provide this data using ESPM’s automated upload protocol. Smaller utilities are to provide the data to building owners in an Excel document, meeting Energy Star Portfolio Manager specifications (see RCW 19.27a.170).
• Establish the weather normalized energy use intensity (WNEUI) for each building in ESPM.
• Create the energy use intensity target (EUIt) for the building in accordance with Annex Y, Section Y6.2.
• Compare WNEUI to the calculated target (EUIt). However, Tier 2 covered buildings are not required to meet the target at this time.
• For assistance on how to determine your building’s EUIt refer to guide sheet How to Determine Energy Use Intensity Target (EUIt) and within the standard Table 7-2a Building Activity Site Energy Targets and Table 7-4 Building Activity Type Definitions Table.

Develop and implement the Energy Management Plan (EMP) and associated Operations and Maintenance Program (O&M) for each building as outlined in Sections 5 and 6 of the Clean Building Performance Standard. This step can happen concurrently with benchmarking.

The EMP and O&M program are mandatory requirements for all covered buildings. Implementation of these requirements can begin at any time. There are no required templates. A current EMP and O&M program, which are in compliance with the Clean Building Performance Standard, may be used. Check back for potential example templates.

Tip: Designate your qualified energy manager. A qualified energy manager requires specific expertise and certification. Select this link for defined roles and responsibilities (PDF).

Use the EMP template and the O&M Program Development Tool to help get you started. The use of the template and tool are not required. You are welcome to use other templates or existing documents that meet the requirements of the CBPS.

• Energy Management Plan Template (Word)

The EMP template acts as a framework for building energy management planning in relation to the requirements of the CBPS. This optional resource can be used by building owners, authorized representatives, energy managers, or qualified persons to guide the creation of the energy management plan for Tier 1 or Tier 2 covered buildings. An EMP outlines an organization’s goals for their building’s energy performance, tracks actual energy use of the building, reports historical energy use intensity (EUI) metrics compared to the building’s energy use intensity target (EUIt), and incorporates O&M protocols to ensure the building is operating as efficiently as possible.

• O&M Program Development Tool (Excel)

The O&M Program Development Tool was developed to assist building owners with documenting and tracking a building’s equipment and system inventory and maintenance tasks associated with their equipment. This excel-based tool allows building personnel to track common equipment types and tasks as well as create their own customizable equipment and maintenance requirements. Watch the simple or detailed tutorial on how to navigate the tool:

• O&M Program Development Tool Detailed Tutorial
• O&M Program Development Tool Simple Tutorial

The building owner of a Tier 2 covered building must report compliance with the standard to Commerce by July 1, 2027 and every five years thereafter.

Need more time to comply?

Conditional compliance is a temporary compliance method that can be applied to the EMP and O&M requirements of the standard. Benchmarking is required and shall be reported in the Tier 2 covered building conditional compliance application. See Annex Y4 for more details. Application for Tier 2 conditional compliance must be submitted prior to the scheduled compliance date.

Commerce is authorized to impose administrative penalties upon building owners who fail to submit documentation demonstrating compliance. Failure to submit appropriate documentation by the scheduled reporting date will result in progressive penalties by legal notice.

• See Annex Y5 to learn more about violations, assessment of administrative penalties, mitigation and review of penalty decisions.
• Assessment of penalties for non-compliance cannot exceed $0.30 per square foot.

A dedicated space outside of our scheduled trainings and workshops to connect with our Clean Buildings staff, ask questions, talk through scenarios and more. “Office Hours” are held on the 4th Tuesday of every month from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PT.

• Register to attend a CBPS Office Hour Session (on Zoom)