California has unveiled a groundbreaking public dashboard, the California Building Performance Pulse, allowing residents and policymakers easy access to data on how the state's large commercial and apartment buildings use electricity, water, and produce carbon emissions over time.
- Tracks energy, water, and carbon data across millions of square feet
- Enables comparisons by city, building type, and year built
- Focuses attention on emissions and water use in a drought-prone state
What happened
On May 28, California launched the California Building Performance Pulse, a free public dashboard developed by Measurabl and the U.S. Green Building Council of California. This platform taps into six years of data from commercial and multifamily buildings to show the state's energy use, water consumption, and carbon emissions across more than 1.3 billion square feet of floor space.
The new tool aggregates scattered data from multiple benchmarking laws and expands transparency by displaying metrics such as median annual performance, trends over time, and comparisons by region and property type. It is designed to help building owners, operators, and policymakers identify where improvements are needed and track progress in reducing environmental impacts.
Why it feels good
For too long, California’s significant resource use and emissions from buildings remained hidden or difficult to understand, slowing efforts to improve efficiency and reduce greenhouse gases. This dashboard demystifies those impacts and presents them in an accessible, comparable format, helping stakeholders make informed decisions.
With buildings contributing about a quarter of California's greenhouse gas emissions, and water consumption critical amid ongoing drought risks, the combined focus on energy, carbon, and water reflects a holistic approach. The inclusion of water data is particularly important because water use varies greatly by building type and is vital to the state’s environmental resilience.
What to enjoy or watch next
As more building owners contribute data, the California Building Performance Pulse is expected to grow even more comprehensive, potentially spurring innovations in building design and operations to meet the state’s ambitious climate and water goals. Observers should watch for updates as the California Energy Commission responds to Senate Bill 48, which could further influence data reporting and building performance standards.
Beyond policy, this transparency invites public engagement and empowers communities to advocate for greener, more sustainable buildings. Whether you own property or just care about California’s environment, using this dashboard to explore how different building types perform can offer actionable insights and encourage a collective push toward a cleaner, more efficient future.