Mirroring recent trends in other real estate sectors, the multifamily housing sector is subject to an increasing number of rules and regulations related to energy-performance benchmarking and disclosure. The goal of these new rules is to enable transparent building energy-performance information to drive energy efficiency improvements in multifamily housing that lower energy bills for residents; … Continued
Bellwether Housing owns and manages 29 apartment buildings that provide affordable housing for more than 3,000 Seattle residents, many of whom are low-income families and seniors. Bellwether aims to keep housing costs as low as possible for its residents, which means keeping energy bills in check. Through Portfolio Manager benchmarking, Bellwether found that annual utility … Continued
When CB Richard Ellis and LaSalle Investment Management began working together in 2006 as the asset service and management providers for Seattle's historic Dexter Horton building, there was a mutual understanding that they would invest in the upgrades needed to make the building as efficient as possible. By using the EPA’s free benchmarking tool, ENERGY … Continued
Hines first began measuring and rating, or benchmarking, the energy performance of Bank of America Fifth Avenue Plaza using the EPA’s free ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool in 2000. It was an eye-opening experience. For the first time, Hines was able to compare the building’s energy performance to similar buildings in the Seattle area as … Continued
Requirements for building owners to benchmark energy performance and disclose that information to the market have been passed in a number of U.S. cities and states in recent years. To help increase awareness of and compliance with these new laws, cities are conducting broad outreach, education, and training activities aimed at supporting building owners, managers, … Continued
In most buildings, energy consumption has significant influence on financial performance. Energy-efficient buildings can create significantly greater net income for owners than otherwise similar buildings that are not so efficient. However, energy efficiency is invisible, and therefore hard for real-estate stakeholders to track—and easy to overlook. Now that wide segments of the market are demanding … Continued
Major U.S. cities and states, including New York City, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and California, now require building owners and operators to comparatively rate the energy performance of their buildings and disclose building energy-performance indicators to the marketplace. Existing policies are projected to impact more than 4 billion square feet of floor space … Continued
An analysis conducted by the Institute for Market Transformation (IMT) and the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) found that a rating and disclosure policy for commercial and multifamily residential buildings applied nationally would result in significant job growth, consumer energy savings and increased private investment in energy efficiency improvements. The analysis found that such a … Continued
Within the past five years, two states and five major cities have passed building energy rating (or benchmarking) and disclosure policies that will affect some of the nation’s largest metropolitan real estate markets, including New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and Seattle. The energy performance of several billion square feet of floor space in … Continued
Graphic illustrating the cycle of improvement that results from building energy rating and disclosure.