Policymakers

Through ENERGY STAR®, the EPA has helped dozens of state and local governments design and implement voluntary programs focused on helping commercial and multifamily buildings save energy, reduce emissions, and stimulate local economic growth. And for the dozens of governments that have chosen to pass laws requiring the use of the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® tool, the EPA has provided expert advice on the most appropriate use of the program’s tools and resources.

The EPA’s ENERGY STAR team is available to provide technical support to state and local governments across all phases of program development and implementation, including review of draft policies, regulations, and plans. Browse some of our resources below and then contact us to learn how we can help you achieve your goals.

Portfolio Manager Overview

The EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is a free, online utility measurement and tracking tool. It provides building owners, managers, and occupants with a variety of performance metrics on energy use, water use, emissions, and waste generation/disposal. Hundreds of thousands of buildings use the tool to keep tabs on their performance. It’s also used by dozens of state and local governments as the IT backbone of their voluntary programs and benchmarking and disclosure and Building Performance Standards laws. Learn more about Portfolio Manager.

Key Advantages to Using Portfolio Manager

  1. No cost to you or building owners/managers in your jurisdiction.
  2. Supported by the EPA’s robust training and help desk infrastructure.
  3. Already in use across the U.S. and Canada as the industry standard utility benchmarking tool, which helps minimize your risk and make compliance easier for many buildings. 

Getting Started with ENERGY STAR

We’ve helped dozens of policymakers untangle the complicated task of designing and implementing their policies. 

The Benchmarking & Building Performance Standard Policy Toolkit

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are policies that require commercial and multifamily buildings to meet certain performance levels, typically for energy use or emissions. Benchmarking laws, meanwhile, require annual reporting of energy use and sometimes water use, often with public disclosure of building performance.

EPA’s Benchmarking and Building Performance Standards Policy Toolkit

Review the Benchmarking & Building Performance Standard Policy toolkit.

The Toolkit aims to inform and support state and local government decision makers who are exploring the adoption of policies focused on reducing energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing buildings.

The toolkit includes four sections focused on different aspects of policy design and implementation.

  1. Section 1: Benchmarking and transparency
  2. Section 2: Building performance standards
  3. Section 3: State and local government coordination
  4. Section 4: Access to utility data

The EPA has also developed Recommended Metrics and Normalization Methods for Use in State and Local Building Performance Standards to assist in the critical process of identifying the metrics to be used as the basis for any policy.

Lessons Learned from Other Cities and States

Contact the ENERGY STAR team to learn more about the experience of other jurisdictions. We can also help connect you with specific jurisdictions with similar contexts, approaches, or needs to exchange best practices and lessons learned.

IMT BPS Map

The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) maintains a map showing state and local policies focused on improving existing commercial and multifamily buildings. Visit IMT's website to see the current version of the map and explore details of individual policies.

Utility Data Access

Access to whole-building energy data is critical for building owners to identify the best opportunities for improvements. Many utilities already provide the energy and/or water data needed for benchmarking, but the vast majority across the country don't, so view our utility map to see where your utilities stand.

ENERGY STAR utility map

The EPA can assist states, local governments, and utilities on efforts to expand access to this data. States may be especially well positioned to advance access given their role as utility regulators. Learn more about the EPA's efforts to expand access to utility data.

Portfolio Manager Training and Outreach Resources

We can train your staff and volunteers on how to use Portfolio Manager so that they can train others, and you can also utilize our on-demand training resources, such as our Portfolio Manager 101 webinar series. We are also happy to share video and script files from our demo videos so that you can edit them to meet your specific needs.

Additionally, we can share our tips for how to effectively utilize ENERGY STAR tools and resources to engage with building managers and owners. The EPA has many voluntary tools and resources you can leverage such as running an energy-saving competition, holding ENERGY STAR Treasure Hunts, and leveraging our FAQs and help desk.

For more information

Contact the ENERGY STAR team at statelocal@energystar.gov for a one-on-one discussion, for the EPA to review your draft policy, regulation, or plan, or to request to join our quarterly meeting for state and local governments.