Chapter Building 2

How does Chapter Building 2 compare with other office buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 497 office buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Chapter Building 2's ENERGY STAR score of 100 compares with an average of 76 across the 378 that report a score; it scores higher than 96% of them. Its site EUI of 8.8 kBtu/ft² is about 80% below the average of 44.8 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.1 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 80% below the group average of 0.7 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 156,586 sq ft, it is about 20% below the average floor area of 196,452 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2024, 59 years later than the group's average year built (1965). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 100 mean?

ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: 100 is the top of the scale. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 100 falls in band A — high performer (85–100). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In Seattle, 69% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.

Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. Chapter Building 2's 8.8 kBtu/ft² across 156,586 sq ft works out to about 1.4 billion Btu (404 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 21.1 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 309,118 kWh of electricity and 3,150 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Chapter Building 2 to report its energy use?

Chapter Building 2 reports under the Seattle Energy Benchmarking Ordinance (SMC 22.920), the legal basis of Seattle's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2025 disclosure (source record seattle:51978:2025). Seattle's Building Emissions Performance Standard (adopted 2023) applies to buildings over 20,000 sq ft: benchmarking verification is due 2027–2030 and initial emissions targets 2031–2035, reaching net zero by 2041–2050, with fines for non-compliance.