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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR for Certification for Buildings program is a proven platform for building owners and managers to “label” their assets as top energy efficiency performers in the marketplace.
Investors, tenants, and employees seek buildings and workplaces with ENERGY STAR ratings because they signal well-managed, profitable assets with reduced carbon footprints.
ENERGY STAR has been a success since its creation in 1998. The Real Estate Roundtable strongly supports the program and we have further advocated for Congress to:
EPA’s “next generation” of ENERGY STAR labels should encourage real estate companies that lead the way in reducing their buildings’ on-site carbon emissions while also adding to our nation’s overall supply of renewable energy.
The “business case” for ENERGY STAR shows a correlation between energy efficiency “labels” with properties that enjoy lower operating costs, obtain better mortgage terms, and command higher sales prices and rental rates.
The federal EPA estimates that nearly 45% of U.S. commercial floor space—44 billion square feet—uses “Portfolio Manager,” ENERGY STAR’s free online tool to measure and manage buildings’ energy, water, and waste consumption.
An increasing number of state and local laws leverage ENERGY STAR benchmarking and rating platforms as mandates within their respective jurisdictions. It is critical that the EPA provides guidance to help ensure that municipal-level programs synchronize with the rating scale and other components of the EPA’s voluntary national program.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR for Certification for Buildings program is a proven platform for building owners and managers to “label” their assets as top energy efficiency performers in the marketplace.
Investors, tenants, and employees seek buildings and workplaces with ENERGY STAR ratings because they signal well-managed, profitable assets with reduced carbon footprints.
To complement its “whole building” rating program, in 2018, the EPA issued its first labels to recognize commercial tenants for high-performance design and construction of leased spaces.
The behavior, space design, and equipment choices of tenants can account for more than 50% of energy consumed in commercial buildings—beyond the owner’s ability to control. Expanding EPA’s ENERGY STAR program to add tenant-based recognition is thus a key objective to achieve better efficiency, lower energy use, and a reduced carbon footprint attributable to U.S. real estate.
