Understand the energy management plan required for Washington Clean Buildings Tier 1 and Tier 2, the owner decisions it records, and the related services to scope.
An energy management plan, or EMP, is the management side of the Clean Buildings work. It assigns responsibility, establishes goals and processes, and connects energy information to repeatable decisions. It is not simply a utility-data export, an equipment list, or a one-time audit report.
Commerce publishes guidance and optional tools for EMP and operations-and-maintenance work. Owners may use other documents when they meet the current standard, but the final package should reflect the actual building, staff, responsibilities, and current program requirements.
Start with ownership and responsibility, then connect benchmarking, goals, review practices, and records. A consultant can support the process, but the owner should retain the finished and editable materials.
Identify the building's tier, current Commerce record, compliance cycle, owner representative, and the person responsible for energy management. Tier 2 guidance specifically calls for a qualified energy manager.
Define who maintains Portfolio Manager, how meters and property details are checked, how results are reviewed, and how data problems are corrected rather than carried forward.
Document goals, responsibilities, review intervals, training, procurement or operating practices, record retention, and how the team responds when performance differs from expectations.
Require editable source files, identify where records live, assign future updates, and state which consultant tasks end at delivery versus continue through implementation or reporting.
Short answers grounded in public program and federal guidance. The written scope still controls each engagement.
Commerce identifies an energy management plan as a mandatory component for Tier 1 and Tier 2 covered buildings. The applicable standard, forms, roles, and reporting cycle differ, so use the current tier-specific guidance.
Commerce describes its templates and tools as optional. Other documents may be used when they meet the current standard. The mandatory reporting tools and current program instructions still control the official submission.
No. They are connected requirements. The EMP organizes energy-management responsibility and process; the O&M program organizes the procedures and records used to operate and maintain the building. A combined engagement should still identify both deliverables.
This directory is independent and cannot determine what a particular building must do.