EPA Honors Commercial Building Design Projects

ENERGY STAR Update
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Thursday, May 14, 2015

Washington – Today, at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Convention in Atlanta, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized 17 architecture firms that met the 2015 ENERGY STAR Green Your Blueprint Challenge by achieving “Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR” for their commercial building design projects. In total, architects submitted more than 50 design projects for the commercial sector.

A design project that achieves EPA’s Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR recognition meets strict EPA criteria for estimated energy performance. It signifies that, once built, the building is poised to achieve top energy performance and to be eligible to earn ENERGY STAR certification. In total, the projects recognized at this year’s Challenge are estimated to prevent more than 47,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and save more than $7.5 million in annual energy costs across seven million square feet of commercial floor space.

“EPA applauds the architecture firm CR Architecture + Design for winning the challenge by achieving Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR recognition for 24 design projects—all of them for new Kroger grocery stores,” said EPA Climate Protection Partnerships Division Acting Director Jean Lupinacci . “Once built, these grocery stores are estimated to prevent more than 21,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. These projects exemplify the commitment of CR’s client, The Kroger Company, for designing their stores to achieve superior energy performance, save money, and help fight climate change.”

Over the years, EPA has collaborated with AIA to promote energy efficiency in commercial new construction by highlighting Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR projects at the AIA National Convention. This year, EPA's ENERGY STAR Green Your Blueprint Challenge encouraged architecture firms to achieve Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR recognition for as many of their commercial new construction projects as possible.

Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR was launched in 2004. Since then, nearly 650 projects from 225 architecture/engineering firms have achieved the recognition. If these buildings are operated as designed, EPA estimates they will prevent more than 629,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and save over $77 million in annual energy costs. Projects that achieve Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR meet EPA criteria for energy efficiency and are independently verified by a licensed professional engineer or registered architect.

ENERGY STAR is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For more than 20 years, people across America have looked to EPA’s ENERGY STAR program for guidance on how to save energy, save money, and protect the environment. Behind each blue label is a product, building, or home that is independently certified to use less energy and cause fewer of the emissions that contribute to climate change. Today, ENERGY STAR is the most widely recognized symbol for energy efficiency in the world, helping families and businesses save $360 billion on utility bills, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2.5billion metric tons since 1992. Join the millions who are already making a difference at energystar.gov.