"I can't underscore enough how forward thinking this is, and how disruptive a force it is actually going to be, within the commercial real estate market in California," Diane Vrkic, COO of Global Energy and Sustainability Services for Jones Lang LaSalle, tells GlobeSt.com. "There can't be a better way to go about this than by having a consistent, transparent way to label buildings on performance."

Under AB 1103, beginning this January, electric and gas utilities are required to maintain records of the energy consumption data of all nonresidential buildings to which they provide service and, upon request of an owner, upload those records to a secure online interactive energy management tool maintained by the US Environmental Protection Agency that tracks and assess energy and water consumption. The Energy Star Portfolio Manager allows users to identify under-performing buildings, verify efficiency improvements, and receive EPA recognition for superior energy performance.One year from January, anyone looking to buy, finance or lease an entire building will be entitled to obtain the building's Energy Star Portfolio Manager benchmarking data and ratings. The Energy Star program rates buildings on a scale from 1 to 100 against other buildings within its class. Buildings within the top quartile will be eligible to be recognized as an EPA Energy Star Building and can use the "Energy Star Label" to communicate its energy efficiency to tenants, lenders, and other stakeholders.

"Car dealers are required to disclose a car's fuel efficiency rating; now in California, sellers and lessees of buildings will be required to disclose the building's energy efficiency rating," environmental engineer Joe Derhake tells GlobeSt.com.Derhake, a principal with El Segundo, CA-based Partner Engineering and Science Inc. says the state's benchmarking process will require the most recent 12 month's worth of utility data provided by the various utility companies, as well as building specific information from the owner such as weekly operating hours, number of personal computers, and the percentage of gross floor area that is either air conditioned or heated.