Why building owners don’t want the EPA to ditch Energy Star – The Seattle Times

Report on the Potential Discontinuation of the Energy Star Program and its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The United States federal government’s Energy Star program, particularly its Portfolio Manager software, is a critical tool for advancing several key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report analyzes the program’s contribution to sustainability, the potential ramifications of its proposed defunding or privatization, and the perspectives of major stakeholders. The potential loss of this program threatens to undermine progress on affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities, climate action, and responsible consumption.

Energy Star’s Contribution to National and Global Sustainability Objectives

Advancing SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

The Energy Star program is a cornerstone of efforts to achieve Target 7.3, which aims to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency. The program’s Portfolio Manager tool directly supports this goal by:

• Providing a no-cost mechanism for building owners to track and manage energy consumption.
• Enabling the identification of inefficient buildings, thereby targeting investments in energy-saving upgrades.
• Resulting in significant cost savings, with businesses and organizations avoiding $14 billion in energy costs in the last year alone, making energy more affordable.

Supporting SDG 11 and SDG 13: Sustainable Cities and Climate Action

Buildings are a primary source of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 26% globally. The Portfolio Manager tool is instrumental in mitigating this impact, directly contributing to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

1. Reducing Urban Environmental Impact (SDG 11.6): Over 330,000 commercial buildings, representing nearly a quarter of U.S. commercial space, use the tool to reduce their energy footprint, making urban centers more sustainable.
2. Integrating Climate Change Measures (SDG 13.2): The software provides the data necessary for businesses and local governments to implement and enforce policies aimed at reducing emissions from the built environment. State-level programs, such as Building Performance Colorado, rely on Portfolio Manager for compliance and reporting.

Threats to the Program and a Setback for Sustainability

Proposed Defunding and Privatization

The program faces an existential threat from a preliminary federal budget proposal that suggests eliminating funding for the EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Protection, which administers Energy Star. Furthermore, administration officials have indicated a potential privatization of the program.

Negative Impacts on SDG Achievement

The discontinuation or privatization of the free, public tool would create significant barriers to achieving sustainability targets. Key concerns include:

• Increased Costs: Privatization would likely introduce user fees, undermining the “Affordable” aspect of SDG 7 by placing a financial burden on businesses seeking to improve energy efficiency.
• Data Fragmentation: The emergence of multiple, competing private tools would destroy the standardized, industry-wide benchmark. This would impede the ability to compare buildings and measure progress toward SDG 11 and SDG 13 on a national scale.
• Weakened Policy Enforcement: Without a single, trusted data source, state and local governments would struggle to enforce energy efficiency mandates, hampering progress on climate and sustainability goals.
• Erosion of Public-Private Partnerships (SDG 17): The program is a successful model of a government-backed partnership that supports private industry. Its demise would remove a trusted, third-party arbiter, which stakeholders value for its objective, science-based approach.

Stakeholder Concerns and the Call for Program Preservation

Industry and Advocate Perspectives

A consensus exists among real estate industry groups, sustainability advocates, and property owners that the loss of Portfolio Manager would be detrimental.

• The Real Estate Roundtable emphasizes the tool’s business case, stating, “It allows us to monetize how much energy we are saving. It translates to dollars.”
• The Institute for Market Transformation highlights the necessity of a “single source of truth that is trusted, third-party, government-backed” to maintain integrity in sustainability reporting.
• Empire State Realty Trust notes the tool’s objectivity and warns that its disappearance would be “catastrophic for the industry,” crippling its ability to benchmark performance and contribute to climate goals.

The collective view is that the program’s role as a free, standardized, and universally adopted tool is irreplaceable for making substantive progress on energy efficiency and climate action in the commercial real estate sector.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy – The article focuses on the Energy Star program and its Portfolio Manager tool, which are designed to improve energy efficiency in buildings, thereby reducing energy consumption and costs.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure – The discussion revolves around commercial real estate (infrastructure) and the use of an innovative software tool (Portfolio Manager) to upgrade buildings and make them more sustainable and resource-efficient.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities – The article highlights that buildings are a primary source of emissions in cities and that the program helps manage the environmental impact of urban infrastructure. It also mentions local mandates in cities for energy use disclosure.
• SDG 13: Climate Action – The core issue is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, which the article states are responsible for 26% of global emissions. The Energy Star program is presented as a key tool in mitigating climate change.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

1. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

   • Target 7.3: By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency.
     
     The article directly supports this target by describing the Energy Star program’s Portfolio Manager software. This tool “allows owners to tally energy consumption across properties and spot inefficient buildings in need of upgrades.” The article quantifies its impact, stating it “helped businesses and organizations avoid $14 billion in energy costs” in the last year, which is a direct outcome of improved energy efficiency.

2. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities.
     
     The article details how the Portfolio Manager tool facilitates the upgrading of infrastructure (commercial buildings). It allows businesses to “make decisions on where to invest in energy-saving upgrades.” The program’s use across “330,000 buildings nationwide” demonstrates a large-scale action to make infrastructure more sustainable and resource-efficient.

3. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

   • Target 11.6: By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management.
     
     The article connects building energy use directly to urban environmental impact, noting that buildings are a “main source of greenhouse gas emissions in cities.” By enabling energy efficiency, the Energy Star program helps reduce these emissions. The article also cites “local mandates for energy use disclosure,” such as the “Building Performance Colorado” program, which are city- and state-level policies aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of urban buildings.

4. SDG 13: Climate Action

   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.
     
     The Energy Star program is described as a “federal government’s Energy Star program” administered by the EPA. This represents a clear integration of climate change measures (reducing emissions from the building sector) into national policy and strategy. The potential elimination of its funding is presented as a threat to this established national climate action plan.

Implied Indicators for Measuring Progress

1. For Target 7.3 (Energy Efficiency)

   • Energy consumption data: The article states the Portfolio Manager software “allows businesses to track, measure and compare energy efficiency across hundreds of thousands of buildings.” This direct tracking of energy consumption is the primary indicator.
   • Monetary savings from energy efficiency: The article mentions the program “helped businesses and organizations avoid $14 billion in energy costs,” which serves as a quantifiable indicator of efficiency gains.
   • Program adoption rate: The use of the tool by “over 330,000 buildings nationwide, representing nearly 25% of commercial building space” is an indicator of the scale and progress of energy efficiency initiatives.

2. For Target 11.6 (Environmental Impact of Cities)

   • Greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector: The article explicitly states that “Heating, cooling and lighting buildings is responsible for 26% of global emissions.” Tracking the reduction of these emissions as a result of efficiency upgrades would be a direct indicator of reducing the environmental impact of cities.

3. For Target 13.2 (Integration of Climate Change Measures)

   • Existence of national and sub-national policies: The article points to the “federal government’s Energy Star program” as an indicator of a national policy. Furthermore, it mentions “state and local requirements to report and reduce building energy use,” citing “Building Performance Colorado” as an example of a sub-national strategy, which serves as an indicator of policy integration at multiple levels of government.

Summary of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: seattletimes.com