Author: abigail_grenadier

RER and Coalition Partners Call on Congress to Ensure Continued ENERGY STAR Funding

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As focus on Capitol Hill shifted to appropriations talks this week, The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) and a broad coalition of organizations representing the real estate, consumer products, manufacturing, and retail sectors sent a letter urging congressional leaders to ensure that the ENERGY STAR program remains amply funded in the 2027 fiscal year (FY’27), starting Oct. 1.

Coalition Advocacy

  • On Tuesday, the multi-industry coalition requested that House and Senate appropriators include explicit funding for ENERGY STAR in the FY’27 spending bill, in line with FY’26 funding levels. (Letter, April 14)
  • The letter also encouraged lawmakers to include strong congressional oversight measures in the legislation, as lead agency responsibilities for the program shift from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Department of Energy (DOE). (Letter, April 14)
  • In the letter, the coalition recommended that legislators consolidate past funding for ENERGY STAR expressly given to the EPA, plus amounts used by DOE historically to run its portion of the program. (Letter, April 14)
  • Congress provided approximately $33 million for ENERGY STAR to EPA in the FY’26 appropriations bill (H.R. 6938), signed into law on Jan. 23, preserving the program through Sept. 30 following earlier reports that it could be privatized or defunded. (Roundtable Weekly, April 3)
  • Though President Trump’s FY’27 budget request, released this month, does not specifically mention ENERGY STAR—as was the case last year—the White House has proposed cutting DOE and EPA’s overall budgets by 11 percent and 52 percent, respectively. (Budget of the U.S. Government, April 3)

DOE Budget Hearings

  • This week, DOE Secretary Chris Wright appeared before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) and a subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations to discuss the agency’s FY’27 budget request. 
  • Though most of Sec. Wright’s testimony did not focus on ENERGY STAR, Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) raised the topic during Thursday’s E&C hearing. (Watch Hearing)
  • Rep. Tonko noted the importance of ENERGY STAR and pointed out that ENERGY STAR has historically required approximately $35 million in annual funding. (Watch Hearing)
  • When asked if DOE would be seeking that funding as part of its budget request, and if he could provide assurance that DOE is already working to put the people and resources in place to transition and manage the program, Sec. Wright said he would follow up on the details. (Watch Hearing)
  • Still, Sec. Wright added that he is “all for” voluntary energy efficiency ratings on appliances as well as data and transparency. (Watch Hearing)
  • The bulk of the two hearings this week focused on a range of other topics, including rising energy prices, permitting reform, and nuclear power. (Politico E&E News, April 16)

Roundtable View

  • In March, RER and coalition partners sent a letter expressing support for DOE assuming its new role as lead federal agency for ENERGY STAR. (Roundtable Weekly, April 3)
  • Additionally, the March letter underscored that DOE is well-positioned to lead a modernized program that continues to provide consumers and businesses with access to efficient products and buildings that uphold the performance they have come to expect from the ENERGY STAR brand. (Roundtable Weekly, April 3)
  • RER and coalition partners have long made the business case for ENERGY STAR and emphasized its status as a federal program required by law—meaning that it cannot be privatized or operated outside the U.S. government by agency decree. (Roundtable Weekly, April 3 | Roundtable Weekly, March 6) 
  • As Tuesday’s coalition letter highlighted, “Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped American families and businesses save more than $500 billion in energy costs.” (Letter, April 14)
  • By driving cost savings through energy efficiency, the program contributes to reducing energy waste and freeing up capacity on the electricity grid, in alignment with President Trump’s goal to “unleash America’s energy dominance.” (RER Policy Priorities Document)

Next week, Sec. Wright is scheduled to appear before Senate appropriators to discuss DOE’s budget request. RER will continue to track developments related to ENERGY STAR funding and support the continuation of the program and its smooth transition to DOE.

RER White Paper Raises Constitutional Concerns With Senate Housing Bill’s Section 901

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The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) this week released a white paper authored by Paul Clement of Clement & Murphy, PLLC, adding significant constitutional concerns to the growing case against Section 901 of Title IX of the Senate-passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act (H.R. 6644). While the broader legislation contains several constructive provisions to help boost housing supply, the Senate bill’s restrictions on certain institutional investors would undermine new development, disrupt the build-to-rent (BTR) market, and raise serious legal questions. (White Paper, April 14)

Why It Matters

  • The Senate provision would apply to corporate entities that own more than 350 single-family homes. It would largely prohibit those entities from purchasing additional single-family homes and require them to sell newly constructed single-family rentals (SFR) after seven years.
  • The investor “purchase ban” on single-family homes and the “forced sale” of new single-family rentals would amount to an unprecedented federal intervention in housing markets at a time when the country needs policies that encourage development—not deter it.

What the White Paper Says

  • The white paper released by RER argues that the forced-sale requirement for build-to-rent housing raises serious constitutional problems under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. (White Paper, April 14)
  • The paper concludes government cannot force one private owner to sell its homes to another without trampling on the Constitution’s “public-use” and “just-compensation” requirements. Furthermore, the Senate’s bill provides no mechanism for the government to pay just compensation to investors whose homes would be taken.
  • The paper also raises equal protection concerns by singling out a narrow category of corporate owners for special burdens.
  • While Congress has broad authority to regulate economic activity, the paper notes that it cannot arbitrarily target a specific class of property owners—particularly where the ownership and disposition of private property are at stake.
  • In addition, the paper argues that the proposal departs from the traditional state and local roles in land use and housing policy, raising broader federalism concerns.

Roundtable Advocacy

  • RER has consistently supported policies that expand housing availability, reduce barriers to development, and improve affordability.
  • At the same time, RER has warned that Section 901 would do the opposite by discouraging new investment in housing and weakening a growing source of supply.
  • RER shared the white paper with members of Congress in a letter urging lawmakers to preserve the bill’s pro-supply provisions while removing Title IX.
  • Since the Senate passed its version of the bill, progressive and conservative groups alike have cited numerous benefits that SFR owners and builders deliver for U.S. housing markets, in terms of increasing supply, maintenance, and upkeep of units, and providing opportunities for families to live in communities with strong education systems, where they can’t afford to buy. (Progressive Policy Institute, February 2026; Competitive Enterprise Institute, February 2026)

  •  As lawmakers work to address the housing shortage, the focus should remain on expanding supply and lowering barriers to development—not on punitive restrictions that threaten new investment, weaken build-to-rent housing, and make affordability challenges worse.

The constitutional concerns surrounding Section 901, and the broader policy debate over how best to expand housing supply, will be part of the discussion at RER’s Spring Roundtable Meeting (Roundtable-level members only) next week in Washington.

White House Economic Report Underscores Supply Gap as ROAD to Housing Act Stalls

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Congress returned to Washington this week after a two-week recess with little visible movement on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, even as House Financial Services Committee staff continued work on a bipartisan response to the Senate-passed bill.

State of Play

  • House and Senate lawmakers remain at odds over how to reconcile the competing housing packages, with the Senate bill’s treatment of institutional investment in single-family housing still one of the biggest sticking points. (Politico, April 14)
  • RER and other housing advocates continue to press lawmakers to preserve the bill’s pro-supply provisions while removing language that could reduce rental housing production and discourage new investment.

Why It Matters

  • The report says that if single-family homebuilding had continued at its historical pace after 2008, the U.S. would have “10 million or more additional single-family homes today”—a striking measure of the nation’s housing shortfall and the scale of lost supply. (CRE Daily, April 14)
  • White House economists reached that figure by asking how many homes would exist today if construction had continued at its pre-2008 pace, making the estimate as much about lost capacity as current demand. (Propmodo, April 13)
  • The findings reinforce that improving affordability will require more building, more investment, and fewer barriers to supply—and that policies constraining new housing production could worsen affordability rather than improve it.

New Research

  • Updated research continues to undercut the argument that institutional ownership is the main source of today’s affordability challenges.
  • An AEI report released last week says large institutional investors own less than 1 percent of the nation’s single-family homes and concludes that Section 901 of the Senate’s bill would reduce the supply of newly constructed and rehabilitated homes while burdening low- and middle-income renters. (AEI, April 10)
  • Separate Realtor.com research published in March also found that the institutional investor footprint has been shrinking from its 2022 peak. (Politico, April 14 | Realtor, March 13)
  • Recent market data points in the same direction. If institutional investment were the main cause of the nation’s housing affordability problems, the markets with the heaviest investor activity would be consistently posting the strongest price growth. (Roundtable Weekly, April 10 | GAO Report, April 6 | GAO Report, 2024)
  • The latest Case-Shiller data show the opposite pattern: Chicago and New York led annual home-price gains in December 2025, while several Sun Belt metros where institutional investors have been more prominent—including Tampa, Phoenix, Dallas, and Miami—saw prices decline. That divergence reinforces the broader point that supply constraints, not institutional investment alone, are the bigger force shaping affordability. (S&P Global, December 2025 | Realtor, October 2025)

New Housing Legislation Introduced

  • Separate from the House-Senate standoff, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) this week introduced the Freedom to Build Act, a proposal backed by The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) that would create a HUD “Freedom to Build” certification for localities adopting pro-supply policies such as faster approvals, regulatory streamlining, and other measures to expand housing construction. (Sen. Hagerty Press Release, April 14)
  • The bill is intended to incentivize deregulation, expand housing supply, and make homes more affordable by aligning existing federal incentives with communities that reduce barriers to building.
  • Jeffrey D. DeBoer, President & CEO of RER said, “This legislation would be a meaningful step toward expanding housing supply and improving affordability for working families. The Freedom to Build Act would align federal incentives with local decision-making to help unlock private capital, enhance housing supply, and support long-term economic growth. The Real Estate Roundtable has long supported policies that promote housing affordability—for renters and homeowners—and strengthen the connection between housing, jobs, and transportation.”

Sen. Hagerty will also be a featured guest at RER’s upcoming Spring Roundtable Meeting next week (Roundtable-level members only), where housing supply, affordability, and related policy developments will be among the topics discussed.

New GAO Data, Rising Cost Pressures Undercut Case for Build-to-Rent Restrictions

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As the Senate-passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act awaits House action, new federal data and rising development cost estimates are reinforcing a key point in the housing debate: affordability challenges are driven by supply constraints, and federal policy should not make it harder or more expensive to build. (Washington Post, April 6)

What the Data Shows

  • At the center of the debate is Section 901, which would force large institutional investors to sell certain newly built single-family rental homes after seven years—a provision that could undermine build-to-rent housing and reduce supply. (Roundtable Weekly, April 3)
  • A new GAO report found that institutional investor ownership of single-family rental homes increased in six metro areas from 2018 to 2024, but still accounted for a very small share of all single-family homes in those markets—ranging from less than 1 percent to 3 percent. (GAO Report, March 24 | Highlights, March 24)
  • The findings add new weight to the argument that institutional ownership is not the main driver of the nation’s affordability challenges.
  • The Washington Post noted this week that forcing build-to-rent homes to be sold within seven years would weaken a fast-growing source of new single-family housing. (Washington Post, April 6)
  • A separate February report from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) reached a similar conclusion, finding that institutional investors own less than 1 percent of all single-family homes nationwide and account for less than 2 percent of all home purchases, and concluding that the broader affordability problem is rooted in supply-demand imbalances rather than investor concentration. (Progressive Policy Institute, February 2026)
  • The reports undercut the argument that restricting institutional investment is likely to meaningfully improve affordability, particularly when housing shortages, financing costs, regulatory barriers, and construction expenses remain the primary constraints on supply.

Market Impact

  • As Barron’s reported this week, Section 901’s proposed restrictions on institutional investors are already having a chilling effect on investments in single-family housing, with investment managers indicating that pension funds and other large investors may pause or reconsider deals until there is greater clarity around housing policy. (Barron’s, April 7)
  • Research from John Burns Research & Consulting suggests the Senate bill has “already paralyzed” the build-to-rent development industry, with new development slowing and capital “now frozen,” impacting project viability “from day one, not just in seven years.” (Barron’s, April 7)

Tariffs & Construction Costs

  • A new Cushman & Wakefield report found that tariff rates in effect as of April 7 would raise construction materials costs by 6.0 percent relative to a 2024 baseline and increase total project costs by roughly 3.0 percent, adding more pressure to housing and commercial real estate development. (Cushman & Wakefield, April 8)

RER & Industry Advocacy

  • RER and broad housing coalitions have consistently emphasized that housing affordability is driven by supply shortages, construction costs, and mortgage rates—not institutional ownership levels—and that restricting institutional capital would only make it harder to meet the nation’s growing housing needs. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 9 | Jan. 16 | Jan. 23 | Feb. 27 | March 6 | March 13 | March 20 | March 27 | April 3) (Letter, March 5 | Letter, March 13)
  • Research continues to show that restricting institutional capital is unlikely to improve affordability and could create new supply constraints. The PPI report, for example, notes that build-to-rent development is becoming an increasingly important source of new housing supply. (Progressive Policy Institute, February 2026)

What’s Next

  • Congress returns next week with a robust agenda. The Senate is set to return April 13 and the House on April 14, with unresolved DHS funding, a possible new reconciliation push, and the administration’s budget request all competing for floor time and political attention.
  • That packed schedule could make it harder for housing legislation to advance quickly.

The Senate-passed ROAD to Housing Act and broader housing policy will be a major focus at the upcoming Spring Roundtable Meeting April 20-21 in Washington, D.C. (Roundtable-level members only).

IRS and Treasury Issue Guidance on Opportunity Zone Nominations

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The IRS and Treasury Department released new guidance Monday outlining the process for states to nominate census tracts for designation as Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs) under the expanded, permanent program enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3) Act. (Treasury News Release, April 8)

Proposed Guidance

  • Treasury and IRS released new guidance establishing the process for chief executive officers of any state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories to nominate eligible low-income census tracts for QOZ designation, as well as a list of 25,332 census tracts that meet the low-income requirements. (Treasury dataset | Politico Pro, April 6)
  • The guidance is a step toward implementing the Opportunity Zone (OZ) changes enacted in the OB3 Act, which made the incentive permanent and expanded it to provide enhanced tax benefits for investments in rural OZs. Rural OZs have lower investment requirements than urban tracts. (IRS News Release, April 6 | Politico Pro, April 6)
  • Under the statute, states generally may designate no more than 25 percent of their eligible low-income communities as QOZs, subject to special rules for states with fewer qualifying tracts. (IRS News Release, April 6)
  • The new designations will take effect on Jan. 1, 2027, and future designation rounds will occur every 10 years, replacing the original one-time map established under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). (IRS News Release, April 6)
  • Treasury is developing an online nomination tool to streamline the designation process. (Bloomberg, April 6)

Roundtable Advocacy

  • Following the passage of the OB3 Act, RER actively engaged Treasury and IRS to support a smooth transition from OZs 1.0 to 2.0, including submitting a detailed comment letter and providing draft guidance for consideration. (Letter, Dec. 19)
  • RER’s December 2025 comment letter requested urgent tax guidance to ensure investment and capital continue to flow to low-income communities during the transition from the TCJA OZ regime to the new OB3 Act rules. (Letter, Dec. 19)
  • RER urged policymakers to confirm that contributions to existing TCJA qualified opportunity funds and businesses would continue to qualify for OZ benefits after current zone designations lapse, provided certain conditions are met. (Letter, Dec. 19)
  • Without clear transition rules, investors could delay or redirect capital, creating unnecessary uncertainty and slowing affordable housing development and economic activity in distressed communities. (Letter, Dec. 19)
  • OZ incentives have already mobilized more than $120 billion in capital to support housing, retail, and mixed-use development in underserved areas. (Letter, Dec. 19)

What’s Next

  • The QOZs nomination window opens on July 1, 2026 and runs for 90 days, subject to a single 30-day extension. (IRS News Release, April 6)
  • Treasury and IRS expect to issue additional guidance identifying designated QOZs before the Jan. 1, 2027 effective date. (IRS News Release, April 6)
  • New OZ designations will run through Dec. 31, 2036, with new nomination rounds occurring every 10 years thereafter. (IRS News Release, April 6)

RER will continue to engage with policymakers to support clear, workable implementation of the new OZ framework, ensure continuity for existing projects, and encourage tax policies that incentivize long-term investment in underserved communities.

The Department of Labor Proposes 401(k) Alternative Investment Rule

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The Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a new rule this week that would make it easier for 401(k) plans to offer investment options with exposure to alternative assets, including private equity, real estate, digital assets, and other nontraditional products—if fiduciaries follow a prudent, process-based framework. The proposal stems from President Trump’s Aug. 7, 2025 Executive Order directing regulators to expand access to alternative assets in defined contribution retirement plans. (DOL News Release, March 30)

Proposed Rule

  • The proposed rule would clarify fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and establish a safe harbor for selecting designated investment alternatives, including asset allocation funds that contain alternative assets. (PoliticoPro, March 30)
  • DOL says the rule is intended to reduce regulatory uncertainty and litigation risk that have discouraged plan sponsors from offering broader exposure to private markets and other alternatives in 401(k) plans, even though such investments are not expressly prohibited today.
  • Under the proposal, fiduciaries would need to evaluate factors such as performance, fees, liquidity, valuation, benchmarks, and complexity through an objective and analytical process. (DOL News Release, March 30)

Background

  • While alternative investments have long played a role in defined-benefit plans such as pensions, fiduciary obligations and litigation concerns have made it more difficult to include them in participant-directed defined contribution plans like 401(k)s.
  • Since the Executive Order, regulators and administration officials have signaled growing support for expanding access to alternative investments—including real estate—while emphasizing the need for appropriate guardrails. (Reuters, March 30)

What to Watch

  • The proposal would mark a meaningful shift in the federal government’s approach to alternative investments in retirement plans, particularly by replacing a more cautious posture with a framework centered on fiduciary process rather than asset-class restrictions. (CNBC, March 30)
  • The rule could have important implications for real estate and other alternative asset managers if it leads to broader access to private-market exposure through participant-directed retirement plans.
  • The proposal does not endorse any specific asset class, and fiduciaries would still be expected to determine whether a particular investment is appropriate for plan participants.

What’s Next

  • The proposal is subject to a 60-day public comment period, with DOL signaling it hopes to finalize the rule by year’s end.

Comments are due on June 1, 2026.  RER is working on comments and welcomes input from members. 

Research Continues to Reinforce Case Against Build-to-Rent Provision in Housing Bill

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As the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act remains in limbo in the House, new research is strengthening the case for removing the Senate bill’s build-to-rent (BTR) provision. The findings suggest the provision could curb housing supply without improving affordability.

State of Play

  • At the center of the debate is Section 901, which would require newly built single-family rental homes developed by large institutional investors to be sold to after seven years. (Roundtable Weekly, March 27 | The Atlantic, March 30)
  • Industry groups, researchers, and The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) warn that the mandate would disrupt a growing source of housing supply, raise serious constitutional concerns, and potentially trigger years of litigation involving property owners, tenants, and the federal government. (Roundtable Weekly, March 13 |  CNBC, March 29)

New BTR Research

  • Other recent studies are reinforcing concerns about the provision. A new AEI analysis found the bill’s investor restrictions could reduce supply and hurt lower-income families. (AEI study, March 27)
  • An Urban Institute case study found that single-family rental investors have developed renovation and property-management capabilities that could help rehabilitate more homes and expand the supply of affordable housing. (Urban Institute Case Study, March 30)

Roundtable & Industry Advocacy

  • RER and a broad real estate coalition have spent weeks urging lawmakers to preserve the bill’s pro-supply provisions while removing or revising Section 901, warning that the seven-year sale requirement would effectively eliminate build-to-rent housing production. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 9 | Jan. 16 |  Jan. 23 | Feb. 27| March 6 | March 13 | March 20 | March 27) (Letter, March 5 | Letter, March 13)
  • That case was reinforced again last week in an open letter from housing researchers, who said the mandate would undermine a growing source of supply and is especially unworkable because many BTR communities are not designed to be sold unit by unit. (Letter, Mar. 26 | MultifamilyDive, Mar. 31)

New Cost Pressures

  • Rising aluminum prices are adding new strain to an already challenging development environment, pushing construction costs higher and threatening project viability.
  • “The conflict in the Middle East is further driving up materials prices and making construction that much less affordable and many projects that much less financially viable,” said Anirban Basu, the chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors. (PoliticoPro, March 27)
  • The pressure comes on top of elevated rates, tariff uncertainty, and labor shortages that have already slowed homebuilding and weighed on new investment. (PoliticoPro, March 27)

What’s Next

  • Congress is in recess until April 13, leaving the package’s next steps uncertain for now.

RER will continue urging Congress to protect the bill’s supply-focused provisions while removing language that would make it harder to build rental housing.

Roundtable and Coalition Support ENERGY STAR Transition to the Department of Energy

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The Real Estate Roundtable (RER) joined a broad coalition of organizations representing the consumer products, manufacturing, real estate, and retail sectors this week to support 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). (RER News Release, March 31 | Memorandum of Agreement, March 3)

ENERGY STAR Coalition Letter

  • 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. (Letter, March 30 | PoliticoPro, March 31)
  • 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. (Letter, March 30)
  • “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.” (RER News Release, March 31)
  • Congress provided approximately $33 million for ENERGY STAR to EPA in the FY’26 appropriations bill (H.R. 6938), signed into law on Jan. 23, preserving the program through Sept. 30 following earlier reports that it could be privatized or defunded. (Roundtable Weekly, Jan. 9 | Utility Dive, March 10) 
  • Additionally, the letter noted that the program has helped save families and businesses more than $500 billion in energy costs since 1992. (Letter, March 30)

Roundtable View

Tony Malkin (Chairman and CEO, Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.), chair of The Roundtable’s Sustainability Policy Advisory (SPAC) Committee.
RER’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) Chair Anthony E. Malkin (Chairman and CEO, Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.)
  • RER has long made the business case for ENERGY STAR and, with coalition partners, emphasized that it is a federal program required by law—not one that can be privatized or operated outside the U.S. government by agency decree. (Roundtable Weekly, Mar. 6)
  • Last year, RER joined dozens of industry groups in a letter to Congress to support the ENERGY STAR. The multi-industry letter cited federal statutes that compel ENERGY STAR to be a program run by federal agencies, with DOE and EPA authorized to assign program responsibilities between themselves. (Roundtable Weekly, Jun. 6, 2025). 
  • “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,” added Malkin.
  • 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.”

RER will continue working with policymakers and aligned stakeholders to help ensure a smooth and productive transition for ENERGY STAR.

NEWS: Real Estate Roundtable and Coalition Support ENERGY STAR Transition to the Department of Energy

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(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

David Simon, Transformative Leader in Retail Real Estate

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The Real Estate Roundtable mourns the passing of David Simon, the longtime chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Simon Property Group, who died on March 22. Simon transformed his family’s business into the world’s leading retail property company and was one of the most influential figures in modern retail real estate. (WSJ | Simon Property Group Press Release, March 23)