(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) joined organizations which represent the consumer products, manufacturing, real estate, and retail sectors in support of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) new role as lead federal agency for ENERGY STAR, following the recent Memorandum of Agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In a coalition letter sent this week to DOE, the groups said they look forward to collaborating with the agency to ensure an effective transition that maintains and evolves the voluntary ENERGY STAR public-private partnership.

“Our longstanding partnership with the federal government’s ENERGY STAR program remains a top priority as DOE assumes the lead implementation role,” said RER's President & CEO Jeffrey D. DeBoer. “DOE has the data, talent, lab research, and other resources to run all facets of ENERGY STAR efficiently and effectively. Down the years, ENERGY STAR for buildings has saved families and businesses hundreds of billions of dollars in energy costs, and helps create greater capacity on the grid to boost economic growth. We will continue to partner in the evolution of ENERGY STAR to support the economic growth in our buildings, plants, and consumer products.”

The coalition emphasized that DOE is well positioned to lead a modernized ENERGY STAR program that continues to provide consumers and businesses with access to efficient products and buildings with the performance they have come to expect from the ENERGY STAR brand. The letter also reaffirmed strong support for keeping ENERGY STAR within the federal government.

“DOE has always been a key part of the ENERGY STAR ecosystem and is ideally suited to assume the role as the program’s primary steward and ensure its vitality and progress forward,” said RER’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) Chair Anthony E. Malkin (Chairman and CEO, Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.). “ENERGY STAR has long enhanced the profitability of buildings and established a voluntary reporting structure for real estate assets. It helps our industry attract investors from all over the world to the United States. ENERGY STAR works better than any other building energy ‘label’ on the market because it is grounded in quantifiable metrics and deploys standard software geared to save money on utility bills and avoid wasted energy.”

Malkin continued, “Our industry coalition with leading organizations in the real estate, manufacturing, consumer tech, and retail sectors will continue to advocate to Congress and the Executive branch the critical role ENERGY STAR plays to advance America’s energy dominance and global competitiveness.”

The letter noted ENERGY STAR has helped families and businesses save more than $500 billion in energy costs since 1992 and said the coalition stands ready to support a smooth, transparent, and comprehensive transition to DOE.

About The Real Estate Roundtable

The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) brings together leaders of the nation’s top publicly-held and privately-owned real estate ownership, development, lending, and management firms with leaders of major national real estate trade organizations to jointly address key national policy issues relating to real estate and its important role in the global economy.

The collective value of assets held by RER members exceeds $4 trillion. RER’s membership represents more than 3 million people working in real estate; 12 billion square feet of office, retail, and industrial space; over 4 million apartments; and more than 5 million hotel rooms. It also includes the owners, managers, developers, and financiers of senior, student, and manufactured housing—as well as medical offices, life science campuses, data centers, cell towers, and self-storage properties. RER’s policy news and more are available on the RER website