CoStar, DOE to promote benefits of energy-efficient buildings

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2016 - To increase the awareness of energy-efficient buildings in the U.S. real estate marketplace, CoStar, partnering with DOE, will display energy-efficiency and energy performance information in CoStar’s online property databases.

CoStar plans to use energy-related information for some 60,000 U.S. commercial and multifamily buildings that will become publicly accessible under state or local energy transparency laws over the next few years, DOE says. The firm already identifies and promotes the benefits of more than 15,000 buildings that have achieved ENERGY STAR certification and the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification in its online property databases and marketplaces, says DOE.

DOE and CoStar Group will also jointly support the following initiatives:

• Performing research to evaluate the impact of energy efficiency and sustainability on real estate valuation, building operating income and expenses, tenant health, comfort and productivity and other topics.

• Promoting Better Buildings and the solutions of market-leading Better Buildings partners.

"Reducing wasted energy in our buildings is one of the quickest and most cost-effective ways to reduce energy bills for Americans, make local communities more affordable, cut harmful pollution and create new jobs," says Kathleen Hogan, DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for Energy Efficiency. "DOE's partnership with CoStar Group will not only improve our understanding of the benefits of energy efficiency for building owners and occupants, but will also result in an historic expansion of the energy efficiency information available to commercial real estate consumers that will drive demand for energy efficiency improvements nationwide."

Information to be displayed in CoStar’s database may include a building’s ENERGY STAR score, whole-building energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions. CoStar Group and the EPA will also explore options to enable building owners and managers to voluntarily share their energy-related information with CoStar Group's online property databases.

Energy-related information for buildings in Chicago and Washington, D.C., will be displayed starting this summer, followed by buildings in other applicable states and localities beginning this fall, DOE says. DOE’s Building Technologies Office will contribute technical energy efficiency expertise to support the partnership initiatives. The partnership agreement has an initial term of 24 months.

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