Most building owners are focusing on benchmarking. That’s a mistake Benchmarking is only the first phase of Maryland’s Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS), which will ultimately require buildings to meet strict emissions targets starting in 2030. So what you report today will determine what you’re responsible for tomorrow.
Starting in 2025:
• Buildings over 35,000 sq. ft. must report energy use annually
• Data is submitted to the Maryland Department of the Environment
This creates your performance history
From 2030 onwards:
• Buildings must meet emissions limits based on size and type
• If they exceed those limits, they pay penalties
In Maryland, those penalties are expected to start around $230 per metric ton of excess
emissions.
That’s where benchmarking becomes real money.
Here’s the reality:
Most buildings don’t know where they stand.
They don’t know:
• Their energy intensity
• Their emissions per square foot
• Their exposure under future standards
And without that visibility, they’re making decisions blindly
Submitting your benchmarking report is not the goal. Understanding what it means is
Because once your data is in:
• It defines your compliance trajectory
• It determines how aggressive your reductions need to be
• It impacts capital planning
This is the real shift:
From:
“File once a year”
To:
“Continuously manage building performance”
Benchmarking becomes a live metric, not a static report.
The buildings that stay ahead are not the ones that file on time.
They’re the ones that:
• Track performance throughout the year
• Identify inefficiencies early
• Align operations with future standards
Because by the time 2030 arrives, it’s already too late to start.
Maryland BEPS is not a compliance problem.
It’s an operational problem.
And benchmarking is your first—and easiest—opportunity to take control.