Green Buildings and ENERGY STAR
To Be Considered Green, a Building Should Be Energy Efficient.
Energy efficiency is central to the intent of building green. According to the World Green Building Council’s definition, a green building “reduces or eliminates negative impacts—and can create positive impacts—on our climate and natural environment.” Energy efficiency not only helps reduce emissions and air pollution, it also relieves stress on the power grid, makes America more energy independent, and creates jobs.
ENERGY STAR Identifies Energy-Efficient Buildings.
Just because a new building is designed to be green, it won’t always be energy efficient. Buildings often don’t perform as designed. It’s important to rely on proven methods to ensure that buildings are designed for top energy efficiency and that they actually perform as intended once they’re operational. That’s why ENERGY STAR complements top green building certification systems, such as LEED and Green Globes
How can you be sure that a building is energy efficient? Look for the ENERGY STAR. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s little blue ENERGY STAR label is used to identify the most energy-efficient buildings in America. These buildings are independently verified to perform better than 75 percent of similar buildings nationwide. On average, they use 35 percent less energy than their peers. Remember, it can’t be green if it’s not blue!
Learn more about the ENERGY STAR program for commercial buildings.
Are ENERGY STAR Buildings Green Buildings?
ENERGY STAR is a certification for energy-efficient buildings, whereas green building certifications are for environmentally friendly buildings more broadly. EPA believes that energy efficiency is the first step to green, and that all green properties should be energy efficient. Using ENERGY STAR tools and resources, and ENERGY STAR recognition where available, will ensure that your green properties (whether certified by LEED or another system) are truly energy efficient.
ENERGY STAR and Other Green Building Rating Systems
Many green building rating systems know that you can’t have a green building unless it’s energy efficient, and they recognize ENERGY STAR as the leading symbol for energy efficiency. That’s why ENERGY STAR complements top green building certification systems. Here are just a few:
- LEED O&M v4
- Green Globes Existing Buildings
- Green Globes New Construction
- IREM Certified Sustainable Property
- BREEAM In-Use
Use Portfolio Manager to Reach Your Green Building Goals.
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager makes it easy to manage your green building and sustainability goals. With Portfolio Manager, you can measure and track your buildings’ energy efficiency, renewable energy generation and use, emissions, water use, and waste all in one place!
Take the first step towards energy efficiency with Portfolio Manager