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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