WaterSense
at Work
Water Use Monitoring
2.3 Benchmarking
&
I
Best Management Practices for
Commercial and Institutional Facilities
*
EPA
WaterSense
March 2024
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WaterSense® is a voluntary partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) that seeks to protect the nation's water supply by transforming
the market for water-efficient products, services, and practices.
WaterSense at Work \s a compilation of water efficiency best management practices
intended to help commercial and institutional facility owners and managers from multiple
sectors understand and better manage their water use. It provides guidance to help
establish an effective facility water management program and identify projects and
practices that can reduce facility water use.
An overview of the sections in WaterSense at Work is below. This document, covering
benchmarking, is part of Section 2: Water Use Monitoring. The complete list of best
management practices is available at www.epa.gov/watersense/best-management-
practices. WaterSense has also developed worksheets to assist with water management
planning and case studies that highlight successful water efficiency efforts of building
owners and facility managers throughout the country, available at
www.epa.gov/watersense/commercial-buildings.
• Section 1. Getting Started With Water Management
• Section 2. Water Use Monitoring
• Section 3. Sanitary Fixtures and Equipment
• Section 4. Commercial Kitchen Equipment
• Section 5. Outdoor Water Use
• Section 6. Mechanical Systems
• Section 7. Laboratory and Medical Equipment
• Section 8. Onsite Alternative Water Sources
EPA 832-F-23-003
Office of Water
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
March 2024
This document is one section from WaterSense at Work: Best Management Practices for Commercial and
Institutional Facilities (EPA-832-F-23-003). Other sections can be downloaded from
vwwv.epa.gov/watersense/best-management-practices. Sections will be reviewed and periodically updated
to reflect new information. The work was supported under contract 68HERC20D0026 with Eastern Research
Group, Inc. (ERG).
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Water Use Monitoring
Benchmarking
Water Sense
Resources for Multifamily Property Water
Use Benchmarking
Property managers interested in
benchmarking multifamily buildingwater
consumption should use the EPA Water
Score. The EPA Water Score is a 1 -to-100
rating, generated by entering building and
water consumption data into ENERGY STAR
Portfolio Manager, that helps compare
multifamily buildingwater use to similar
properties nationwide. Information about the
EPA Water Score, alongwith additional
technical resources intended to help
multifamily property owners conduct a
property water assessment and identify
opportunities to improve their Water Score by
reducing water use, can be found at
www.epa.gov/watersense/water-score-
multifamilv-housing.
Overview
Benchmarking water use in commercial and
institutional facilities is a valuable water
management tool that can generate useful
information for facility owners and
operators. While the term "benchmarking"
can be defined in different ways, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and
its ENERGY STAR® program define it as the
process of measuring a building's water use
and comparing it to its own historical usage,
the water use of similar facilities, ora
reference performance level.1,2 By this
definition, benchmarking may includethe
simple measurement and self-comparison
of a facility's water consumption overtime
(e.g., gallons per year). However,
benchmarking can be made more powerful
by normalizing a facility's water use, thus
allowing for comparisons across similar
facilities of the same type orfunction.
Normalization can use a meaningful functional denominator (e.g., gallons per gross square
foot peryear), or involve a multifactor model. The 1 -to-100 ENERGY STAR Score (for
energy) and the EPA Water Score, described at right and below, are examples of
multifactor ratings that can be generated by inputting facility information and utility usage
data into ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® at www.energystar.gov/buildings/benchmark.
Benchmarking requires the choice of both metrics and benchmarks. A metric (sometimes
referred to as a performance indicator) is a unit of measure that can be used to assess the
rate of water use.3 Examples include water use per year, water use per capita per day, and
1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Energy Resources for State and Local Governments.
Benchmarking and Building Performance Standards Policy Toolkit.
vwwv.epa.gov/stateLocaLenergy/benchmarking-and-buiLding-performance-standards-poLicy-tooLkit.
2 ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. February 2021. Benchmarking and Building Performance Standards
Policy Toolkit. Section 1: Building Energy Benchmarking and Transparency: Overview for State and Local
Decision Makers. www.epa.gov/sites/defauLt/fiLes/2021-
02/documents/benchmarking building performance standards section1.pdf.
3 A&N Technical Services, Inc. March 1, 2013. Analysis of Water Use Efficiency Metrics and Benchmarking.
Prepared for Mesa Water District. www.usbr.gov/Lc/socaL/reports/MesaWDBenchmarks.pdf.
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WaterSense at Work
Benchmarking
water use per gross square foot per year. A benchmark is a particular numerical value of a
metric that allows for the comparison of a facility to itself or to other buildings of similar
function and operating characteristics.4 As an example of a metric, a facility can collect its
water use peryear orwater use per occupant peryear. Collection and comparison of that
water use metric over multiple years would constitute benchmarking.
There are many advantages to benchmarking commercial and institutional buildings for
water use. Determining how a facility is performing compared to similar facilities can help
facility managers prioritize which facilities or building systems to upgrade or justify
increased attention on water efficiency goals. In addition, by characterizing howfacilities
use water and incorporating efficiency improvements, it is possible to offset rising water
and sewer costs, improve resilience to water shortages, and potentially save energy (and
associated energy costs).
How to Benchmark Your Facility
The following sections detail the basic steps to benchmarkyourfacility or portfolio of
facilities.
Track Water Use and Prepare for Benchmarking
If you are not already doing so, you should be collecting, reviewing, and recording bills for
all water and wastewater sources onsite. A minimum of one year will help identify and
understand seasonal trends, but three or more years is preferable. These records should
include utility bills, as well as any self-supplied or alternative water sources (e.g.,
reclaimed water, water from on-property wells, harvested rainwater, onsite recycled
water).
If utility bills are not readily available, facility managers can contact their utility to request
copies of previous bills or install and monitor their own building-level water meters or other
water monitoring devices in preparation for benchmarking. Submetering large subsystems
may also be beneficial. Advanced metering systems may include analysis software or
portals to monitor facility water use and possibly allow for comparison with other
customers. Refer to WaterSense at Work Section 2.2: Metering and Submetering at
www.epa.gov/watersense/best-management-practices for additional guidance.
Proper characterization of the facility to identify operating characteristics and factors that
can influence water use is essential, because it limits comparisons to other properties
with similar operating characteristics. Examples of facility information that may be
important to understand include:
4 Ibid.
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• Building identifying information: This includes the location, year of construction,
and year of major renovation (if applicable).
• Building areas, dimensions, and facility type: Water use characteristics can vary
significantly based on the facility's principal use. Some examples of commercial
and institutional buildingtypes include education, foodservice, healthcare, lodging,
manufacturing, office, public assembly, retail, service, and warehouse. A single
property may contain multiple facility types.
• Unique features that may impact water use: Some water-intensive operations
include commercial kitchens, foodservice, medical facilities, laundry operations,
coolingtowers, irrigation systems, pools, and spas.
• Irrigated area: When irrigation is used, large landscapes tend to use more water
than small ones.
• Number of operational days: Not all facilities are in use 365 days per year. For
public schools, most U.S. states require 180 instructional days peryear but might
require additional professional days forfaculty and staff. Commercial and office
buildings might be in use between 250 and 260 days peryear, accounting for
weekends and the number of holidays recognized.
• Number of occupants: Accounting for the number of building occupants can
sometimes prove complex. For certain facility types that employ people hourly,
such as office buildings and retail, it is helpful to calculate the number of full-time
equivalent (FTE) employees. While definitions vary, FTE can be calculated by
dividing an employee's scheduled hours by the employer's hours for a full-time
workweek. Other examples include calculating the number of full-time students
enrolled at a school, the number of patients served by a hospital, or the number of
visitors/customers seen on an average day.
Refer to WaterSense at Work Section 1.2 Water Management Planning at
www.epa.gov/watersense/best-management-practices for more information on tracking
water use.
Select Appropriate Metrics
The choice of appropriate metrics is critical—particularly when comparing across facilities
with similar operations—and varies depending on the facility type. The most widely
reported metric is gallons of water used per square foot peryear. ENERGY STAR Portfolio
Manager refers to this as water use intensity (WUI). However, floor area may not be the
best metric to understand water use. People, equipment, operations, and landscape area
are all primary drivers of water use. While WUI serves as a common metric across most
facility types in water benchmarking, metrics specific to the property that reflect the
activity of the facility rather than its size are often preferable. Metrics could be:
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• Functional metrics: These
metrics are based on the
intended purpose of the facility
(e.g., water use per guest-night,
water use per meal served, water
use per pound of laundry).
• People metrics: These metrics
are based on the number of
people that interact with the
facility (e.g., water use per
employee, water use per
customer, water use per
student).
• Facility metrics: These metrics are based on the physical characteristics of the
facility (e.g., water use per square foot, water use per seat, water use per dwelling
unit).
The best choice of metric varies depending on the purpose of the facility. In addition, data
availability and data consistency are important considerations in selecting metrics. If it is
not possible to track the ideal metric due to data limitations, proxy metrics can be
substituted. Some examples of appropriate metrics for various facility types are included
in Table 1 on the next page.
The same water use data normalized by different functional denominators can often tell
different stories. If the facility is looking to compare a metric with other facilities within
your portfolio or elsewhere, try to match benchmarking metrics to ones commonly used in
the industry so that direct comparisons can be made. Developing metrics and benchmarks
based on several different denominators may be beneficial (e.g., gallons per day per
occupied room AND gallons per day per total rooms). It is good practice to carefully
describe how your denominators were derived so that others can adjust their data
accordingly to develop meaningful comparisons.
Once you have selected your metric(s), do not just maintain records of water use over
time, but track additional information needed to support each functional, people, and/or
building metric. For example, building occupancy or number of employees may vary over
time, so it is important to obtain and track this information regularly.
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Table 1. Examples of Metrics for Various Facility Types5
Facility Type
Facility Purpose
Appropriate Metric(s)
Proxy Metric(s)
Data Centers
Store and support
data servers
• Water use
effectiveness
Education
Educate students
• Water use per
student
• Water use per square
foot
• Water use per employee
Foodservice
Produce meals for
• Water use per meal
• Water use per seat
people
• Water use per
customer
• Water use per square
foot
• Water use per employee
Healthcare
Assist and care for
• Water use per
• Water use per bed
people
patient
• Water use per employee
Lodging
Provide rooming
• Water use per visitor
• Water use per square
accommodations
for people
• Water use per room
foot
• Water use per employee
Retirement
Homes
Provide rooming
accommodations
• Water use per
resident
• Water use per square
foot
for people
• Water use per bed
• Water use per employee
Manufacturing
Produce raw
• Water use per
• Water use per square
materials and
physical unit
foot
products
produced
• Water use per employee
Offices
Provide space for
• Water use per
• Water use per square
people for desk
employee
foot
work
Public
Provide meeting
• Water use per visitor
• Water use per employee
Assembly
space for people
• Water use per
square foot
Retail
Sell products
• Water use per
customer
• Water use per
transaction
• Water use per square
foot
• Water use per employee
Service
Provide services
• Water use per
• Water use per square
(e.g., repair cars)
service provided
(e.g., water use per
car repaired)
foot
• Water use per employee
Warehouses
Provide storage
space
• Water use per
square foot
• Water use per employee
5 Water Research Foundation. 2015. Methodology for Evaluating Water Use in Commercial, Institutional, and
Industrial Sectors. Table 6.1.
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Identify Benchmarks and Track Performance
Once appropriate metrics have been chosen, benchmarks must be established or
identified as the basis for comparison of building performance. The simplest benchmark is
self-referential, where a facility is comparing a current water use metric to a historical
baseline. Refer to WaterSense at Work Section 1.2 Water Management Planning at
www.epa.gov/watersense/best-management-practices for more information on
establishing a water baseline.
Where data is available, it can also be beneficial to compare water use metrics to the
performance of other facilities. Organizations responsible for numerous facilities can
compare water use metrics across their portfolios. For example, a hotel chain may be able
to compare water use per occupied room across its portfolio of hotels in a region. Facility
owners may also be able to identify external benchmarks to use to compare their water
use metrics. While the availability of water use benchmarks is generally limited for
commercial and institutional buildings, facility managers should consider contacting their
water utility or a local green building or sustainable business organization to determine if
benchmarks are available.
How Water Utilities and Local Governments Can Gather Data to Support Benchmarking
Facility managers are often interested in benchmarking their own facilities or facilities within
their portfolio, but other groups may be interested in benchmarking as well. Benchmarking can
be a helpful tool for utilities and local governments that are interested in working with
commercial and institutional buildings to better understand their water consumption and
reduce demands on local water supplies. Those looking to developing local or regional
benchmarks may need to identify accurate facility characteristics and demographic data. This
information may be available through different government or institutional organizations,
including:
• Local health and fire departments, which can provide data such as the number of seats
in a restaurant, the number of rooms in a hotel or nursing home, maximum occupancy
rates, and other useful operational information.
• Local property taxing authorities, which maintain complete lists of all commercial
facilities along with their classifications and square footage.
• School districts and state education agencies, which can provide information on the
number of students and faculty for schools.
• State boards or bureaus of higher education, which can provide detailed information on
university and college campus facilities, resident population, and enrollment.
• State health and/or human services agencies, which can provide information on
occupancy and staffing of nursing home and rehabilitation facilities.
• State and local health departments, which can provide information on hospital facilities
and number of patients. The American Hospital Directory and/or the American Hospital
Association may also have helpful data.
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Typical Wills and Other Metrics for Select Property Types
Typical water use information is often difficult to find, especially on the local level. In the
absence of local data, it can still be helpful to compare your facility's water use to other
representative data available. EPA has developed a technical reference on median WUI
values and other metrics observed in a variety of facility types based on water use data
entered into ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (Table 2 on the next page).
Property types exhibit a range of median WUIs, with some property types exhibiting larger
ranges of typical (5th to 95th percentile) WUI. These ranges, shown in Figure 1 below,
speak both to the savings potential and the potential influences of different operating
characteristics. Property types with higher median WUIs will generally offer more
opportunities for savings. Property types with larger ranges of typical WUI will likely exhibit
more influences from operating characteristics and features (e.g., climate, size, density).
Figure 1. Range (5th to 95th Percentile) and Median Water Use Intensity (gallons per
square foot per year) for Selected Property Types
College/University
Fire Station
Hospital
Hotel
K-12 School and Preschool
Medical Office
Multifamily
Non-Refrigerated Storage
Office Buildings
Retail Store
Senior Living
Supermarket
i Median
¦ 5th to 95th Percentile
20 40 60 80 100 120 140
Water Use Intensity (gallons per square foot per year)
160
180
Factors Impacting Benchmarking
When benchmarking a facility against others locally or nationally, there are a few factors to
keep in mind, including climate, equipment use, and facility type and subtype. Multifactor
ratings can use models that normalize for several of these factors at once.
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WaterSense at Work Benchmarking
Table 2. Water Use Intensity Reference Values for Select Property Types Within ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager6
Portfolio Manager Property
Number of
WUI (gallons/square foot/year) Percentile
Median Property Type
Type
Observations
5th
25th
50th/Median
75th
95th
Specific Metric
College/University
590
2.48
6.20
13.40
28.34
66.92
N/A
Fire Station
126
5.00
13.95
28.90
54.29
162.95
N/A
Hospital (General Medical
and Surgical)
347
14.30
38.28
55.71
77.44
151.18
107,000 gallons/
hospital bed/year
Hotel
1,488
23.94
40.06
52.02
69.28
120.23
33,500 gallons/
guest room/year
K-12 School and Preschool
(includes Daycare)
1,588
3.04
6.88
10.84
19.71
55.69
11,200 gallons/worker/year
Medical Offices (includes
Urgent Care/Clinic/Other
Outpatient)
1,177
5.73
12.86
23.40
38.82
84.71
N/A
Multifamily*
258
16.76
31.71
45.15
65.56
126.14
43,600 gallons/unit/year
Non-Refrigerated Warehouse
(includes Self-Storage
Facility and Distribution
Center)
1,675
1.15
1.84
3.43
6.69
20.88
N/A
Office (includes Bank
Branch, Financial Office, and
Other Offices)
9,627
2.93
7.83
14.48
29.41
81.52
6,020 gallons/worker/year
Retail Store
4,382
1.41
2.84
5.24
8.99
28.59
N/A
Senior Living Community
1,232
22.18
39.80
56.41
77.69
129.26
39,800 gallons/resident/year
Supermarket (includes
Grocery Store, Wholesale
Club, and Supercenter)
432
9.65
21.03
31.00
45.58
78.42
N/A
* Data Source: 2012 Fannie Mae Energy and Water Market Research Survey
6 WaterSense and ENERGY STAR. June 2023. U.S. Water Use Intensity by Property Type: Technical Reference, www.energvstar.gov/buildings/tools-and-
resources/u s water use intensity property type technical reference
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Benchmarking
It is important to recognize that without normalizing for climate, benchmarks from one
region may not be representative of or comparable to benchmarks within another region
due to variations in weather and climate. Different climates have different heating and
cooling requirements, which can have significant impacts on the water used in steam
boilers and cooling towers. Similarly, weather conditions and climate zones impact
outdoor water used for irrigation and operation of fountains and swimming pools.
In addition, differences within a particular facility type may significantly affect water use. A
resort hotel with recreational facilities and dining, for example, may exhibit different water
usage patterns compared to a budget motel.
In general, comparisons of benchmarking data will be more meaningful if they are within
the same climate zone and include similar facility types with similar equipment. A
multifactor model (such as those used by ENERGY STAR or for the EPA Water Score) can
also account for this variability.
Benchmarking Tools
There are several web-based tools available that can be used to help track water use and
benchmark performance.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (www.energystar.gov/buildings/benchmark) is a free
resource for tracking of energy use, water use, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions for
any type of building. It is an interactive resource management tool that offers the ability to
benchmark commercial buildings. More than 300,000 properties, comprising more than 25
percent of commercial floorspace in the United States, have used ENERGY STAR Portfolio
Managerto measure and tracktheir energy use, water use, and/orwaste and materials.7
More than 130,000 of these properties used ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to track water
use.
Portfolio Manager allows users to enter meter-level data, track data trends, set baselines
and targets for properties, and compare performance across similarfacilities. Data can
either be entered manually, uploaded using a spreadsheet template, or exchanged through
a utility or third-party provider via web services. Figure 2 on the next page shows an
example of the Portfolio Manager dashboard.
7 ENERGY STAR. ENERGY STAR Impacts, vwwv.energvstar.gov/about/origins mission/impacts.
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WaterSense at Work Benchmarking
Figure 2. Example ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Dashboard
WS Example - Multifamily, Boca Raton
(Large Landscape)
444 Sunshine Drive. Boca Raton, FL 33434 Map It
Portfolio Manager Property ID: 6129281
Year Built: 1998
/'Edit
S3 Not currently eligible for
m ENERGY STAR
Certification
A Change Metric
Water Use (All Wafer
Sources) (kgal)
Current: N/A
Baseline: N/A
Summary
Energy
Waste & Materials
Design
Water Score (1-100)
Current Score:
93
Baseline Score:
93
Water Use by Calendar Month (Not Weather Normalized) =
Z)
3° 250
Meter Summary
2 Water Meters Total
2 - Used to Compute Metrics
Oct'15 Jan 16 Apr'16 Jul'16 Oct'16 Jan'17 Apr'17 JuJ '17 Oct 17
Potable Indoor Potable Outdoor
Add A Meter
Current Water Date
Nov 30, 2017
Enter Your Bills
Water Meters - Used to Compute Metrics (2)
Change Meter Selections
. . View as a Diagram
Add A Meter
Q
Five Ways to Enter
Bill Data
1. Manual (Instructions here)
2. Use our simple spreadsheet (on
the bottom of each meter's
Manage Bills page) to upload or
Copy/Paste
Name
Meter ID
Water Meter Type *
Most Recent A
Bill Date
In Use?
(Inactive Date)
Yes
Potable Indoor Meter
35498638
Potable Indoor
11/30/2017
Potable Outdoor Meter
35498639
Potable Outdoor
11/30/2017
Yes
For multifamily properties with 20 or more units, Portfolio Manager can generate a 1 -to-100
EPA Water Score indicating howthe building uses water compared to similar properties
nationwide. EPA provides tools and resources for how to reduce water use and improve a
multifamily building's EPA Water Score at www.epa.gov/watersense/water-score-
multifamilv-housing. The score provides a statistical evaluation of whole-property water
use—including both indoor and outdoor use—normalized for weather and multiple
operational parameters (such as size, density, and irrigated area). A score is calculated by
comparing the true WLM of the property to a similar building's predicted WUI with average
efficiency. The result is a 1 -to-100 number that identifies how efficient a property is relative
to similar facilities given its location and operating characteristics. For example, a building
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with a score of 25 is more efficient than 25 percent of multifamily properties and less
efficient that 75 percent. Therefore, a higher EPA Water Score is representative of a more
efficient property.
Although ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager only offers an EPA Water Score for multifamily
properties, it can still be a helpful tool for tracking the water use of other commercial
property types and comparing water use across a portfolio of facilities.
Laboratory Benchmarking Tool
The International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) Laboratory Benchmarking
Tool (LBT), developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and I2SL, allows users to
compare the energy and water use of laboratory buildings across the United States. The
LBT is mostly advertised as an energy benchmarkingtoolfor lab buildings, which are
unique in terms of energy intensity and cannot receive an ENERGY STAR benchmarking
score. However, the LBT also includes the WUI of laboratories in gallons per square foot
per year. The LBT can be accessed at https://lbt.i2sl.org/.
Current Initiatives and Programs
Water use benchmarking is an ever-growing practice, and there are many ongoing
governmental, academic, and private-sector initiatives and programs that support
benchmarking data sets that allow building owners and managers to assess water
performance compared to similar facilities.
Federal Initiatives
The U.S. Energy Information Administration's Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption
Survey (CBECS, www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/) is a national sample survey that
collects information on U.S. commercial buildings, including energy and water use data.
The 2018 survey provides building characteristics information for nearly six million U.S.
commercial buildings. While CBECS mostly emphasizes building energy consumption,
water use data are available dating backto 2012.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Buildings8 Initiative
(https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/) is a voluntary program that aims to
accelerate the adoption of efficient buildingtechnologies in homes, commercial buildings,
and industrial plants. Its Better Buildings Water Savings Network brings organizations
togetherto discuss and demonstrate approaches to
conserve water in buildings, plants, and multifamily
housing. Water Savings Network partners commit to
sharing water use information across their portfolio of
buildings.
Better
Buildings'
U.S. DEPARTMENT op ENERGY
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State, City, and Municipal Initiatives
There are multiple U.S. states and dozens of cities and municipalities in the U.S. and
Canada that have mandatory or voluntary energy and/or water benchmarking efforts
targeted towards certain subsets of their building sector (e.g., commercial and multifamily
buildings greater than 50,000 square feet). Along with benchmarking mandates, some
cities also require either water reduction targets be met and/or periodic water audits be
performed. For example, Los Angeles requires buildings to document a 20 percent
reduction in WUI over the prior five years or undergo a water audit.8 To learn more about
location-specific benchmarking programs or ordinances, the Institute for Market
Transformation (IMT) maintains a map related to benchmarking programs and policies in
place throughout the United States at www.imt.org/resources/map-u-s-building-
bench marking-policies/.
The 2030 Districts Network is a non-profit organization with the goal of establishing a
global network of high-performing districts and cities to mitigate and adapt to climate
change. Each District is a designated urban area dedicated to meeting 50 percent
reductions in energy, water, and greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. There are currently 23
established districts in the United States and Canada, representing 520 million square feet
of commercial building space. Members have access to resources on establishing
baselines, toolkits for conducting comparative analyses, and case studies on properties
that have successfully improved their resource efficiency.9
Other Programs
There are several programs designed to help colleges and universities track and reduce
their resource consumption. The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System8
(STARS) is a self-reporting framework, sponsored by the Association for the Advancement
of Sustainability in Higher Education, that allows colleges and universities to measure their
sustainability performance, including water use. Institutions are awarded points towards
an overall rating system for their ability to reduce potable water use per person, potable
water use per unit of floor area, and total water withdrawal per unit of vegetated grounds.
Over 1,000 institutions have registered to use to the STARS reporting tool.10 In 2020,
ENERGY STAR launched the Higher Education Benchmarking Initiative (HEBI), a free and
voluntary program designed to help colleges and universities understand how the energy
and water performance of their campuses compare to those of peer institutions. HEBI
allows institutions to track absolute water use and WUI through ENERGY STAR Portfolio
Manager.
8 Retrofit.LA. https://retrofit.la.
9 2030 Districts Network, vwwv.2030districts.org/.
10 Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The Sustainability
Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), https://stars.aashe.org/.
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Benchmarking
The Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking (CHSB) study is an annual study that
collects energy and water data from thousands of hotels around the world, includingfrom
major international hotel brands. This tool allows hotels to evaluate energy and water
performance compared to average performance for different types of hotels in different
regions.11
While not necessarily a benchmark to evaluate facility-level water use performance, the
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) collects corporate disclosures on water data from
companies worldwide and subsequently issues an annual Global Water Report. This
represents a growingtrend among companies to better manage their water use and
disclose water issues.12
Additional Resources
Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). The
Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS), https://stars.aashe.org/.
City Energy Project. May 2019. Water Audit Guidance for Commercial Buildings.
www.cityenergyproject.org/resources/water-audit-guidance-for-commercial-buildings/.
ENERGY STAR. Benchmark Your Building Using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager.
www.energystar.gov/buildings/benchmark.
ENERGY STAR. What is Water Use Intensity (WUI)?
www.energystar.gov/buildings/benchmark/understand metrics/what water use intensity
wui.
Greenview. Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking (CHSB) Index.
https://greenview.sg/services/chsb-index/.
Institute for Market Transformation (IMT). Map: U.S. City, County, and State Policies for
Existing Buildings: Benchmarking, Transparency, and Beyond.
www.imt.org/resources/map-u-s-building-benchmarking-policies/.
International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL). Welcome to the Laboratory
BenchmarkingTool. https://lbt.i2sl.org/.
Texas Water Development Board. May 2018. Best Management Practices for Commercial
and Institutional Water Users. www.twdb.texas.gov/conservation/BMPs/CI/index.asp.
11 Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Index, https://greenview.sg/services/chsb-index/.
12 The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Why disclose as a company, www.cdp.net/en/companies-discloser.
March 2024
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WaterSense at Work
Benchmarking
U.S. Department of Energy. Better Buildings Initiative.
https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/.
U.S. Energy Information Administration. Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption
Survey (CBECS). www.eia.gov/consumption/commercial/.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense program. Water Score for
Multifamily Housing, www.epa.gov/watersense/water-score-multifamily-housing.
Water Research Foundation. 2015. Methodology for Evaluating Water Use in Commercial,
Institutional, and Industrial Sectors.
Water Research Foundation. 2018. Water Use in the Multi-Family Housing Sector.
Water Research Foundation. 2019. Developing Water Use Metrics for the Commercial and
Institutional Sectors.
Water Research Foundation. 2019. Water Use Analysis Guide for Commercial and
Institutional Efficiency.
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AEPA
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(4204M)
EPA 832-F-23-003
March 2024
vwwv.epa.gov/watersense
(866) WTR-SENS (987-7367)
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