A new free public dashboard tracking energy, carbon, and water use in California buildings launched on May 28. The California Building Performance Pulse covers more than 1.3 billion square feet of commercial and multifamily space.
The tool was developed by Measurabl and the U.S. Green Building Council of California. It draws on six years of utility data and allows comparisons by city, property type, floor area, and year built. California buildings consume 109 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 240 billion gallons of water annually while releasing 23 million metric tons of carbon. Buildings account for about a quarter of the state's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the California Air Resources Board. The dashboard stands out as the only public California platform to combine energy, carbon, and water metrics. It shows wide variation in water intensity, with hotels using seven to 10 times more water per square foot than offices. The launch comes as the state prepares new rules under Senate Bill 48. A report on using benchmarking data for building performance standards is due to the legislature in 2026.