Scripps Building - 221 First Avenue West

How does Scripps Building - 221 First Avenue West compare with other office buildings in Seattle?

The latest disclosures cover 497 office buildings in Seattle, out of 3,871 buildings citywide. Scripps Building - 221 First Avenue West's ENERGY STAR score of 69 compares with an average of 76 across the 378 that report a score; it scores higher than 26% of them and lower than 74%. Its site EUI of 57.4 kBtu/ft² is about 28% above the average of 44.8 kBtu/ft² — it uses more energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 0.8 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 19% above the group average of 0.7 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 76,213 sq ft, it is about 61% below the average floor area of 196,452 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 1970, 5 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.

How has Scripps Building - 221 First Avenue West's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 11 Seattle disclosures for Scripps Building - 221 First Avenue West, covering report years 2015–2025. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 72 in 2015 to 69 in 2025 (-3 points); its best year on file was 2020, at 76. Site EUI moved from 64.8 kBtu/ft² (2015) to 57.4 kBtu/ft² (2025), a 11% decrease. Reported emissions went from 43 tCO₂e to 42 tCO₂e over the same span (down 1%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 69 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: a score of 69 means the building performs better than about 69% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 69 falls in band C — below median (55–69). It sits 6 points below 75, the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification. 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. Scripps Building - 221 First Avenue West's 57.4 kBtu/ft² across 76,213 sq ft works out to about 4.4 billion Btu (1,282 MWh-equivalent) in 2025. Its source EUI of 142.0 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 697,476 kWh of electricity and 5,456 therms of natural gas for the year.

Which law requires Scripps Building - 221 First Avenue West to report its energy use?

Scripps Building - 221 First Avenue West 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:115:2025). 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.