The Energy Star Portfolio Manager:

Forget gasoline-fueled, tanked-up automobiles. America’s real energy guzzlers are buildings—both commercial and residential—which account for one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions every year. It’s no surprise then that in 2022, the Biden administration launched the National Building Performance Standards (BPS) Coalition to lower energy use, drive efficiency and performance, and to reduce carbon emissions in buildings across the U.S.  

So, how do we get from creating the BPS to benchmarking the energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions of America’s buildings? At Cushman & Wakefield, the Energy Star Portfolio Manager is where we start. An online tool created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Energy Star Portfolio Manager helps our Energy & Sustainability Services (ESS) team see a holistic view of a building’s performance—including energy and water consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions—so that we work toward improving efficiency, identify best practices and implement a building management plan that seeks to achieve BPS goals.  

As of July 2023, more than 50 state and local governments have already implemented equitable BPS policies and programs, with goals that are focused on both the environment and the community. On an environmental level, BPS policies can help reduce energy consumption and costs, increase the use of renewable energy and adapt to the growing threat of air pollution, heatwaves, storms and power outages. On a community level, BPS can fuel job creation and economic growth.  

For the past 11 years, Cushman & Wakefield has been named Energy Star Partner of the Year by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), achieving the “Sustained Excellence” distinction for the past nine years. Our ESS team completed more than 200 Energy Star certifications across 25 million square feet of real estate in 2022 alone. In addition, Cushman & Wakefield ranked eighth among the top organizations that have certified the most Energy Star buildings.  

Since 1999, our teams have helped certify more than 40,000 buildings with the Energy Star distinction. Our team is well-versed in meeting the high-performance standards set by the EPA and understanding the complexities of the Energy Star certification process.