March 16, 2007—CoStar Group, provider of information services to the commercial real estate industry, recently announced that it will begin adding the Energy Star rating — the most recognized national metric for evaluating building energy efficiency — to properties in its massive online database. The database currently contains more than 2 million researched and verified commercial properties of all classes and types.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), energy consumption from the operation of commercial buildings accounts for 18 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US. In a typical office building, energy represents 30 percent of operating costs—its single largest and most manageable operating expense, says EPA.
On average, Energy Star partners reportedly experience a 10 to 30 percent reduction in their operating costs through changes in building management strategies and capital investments with acceptable rates of return.
Last year, CoStar began highlighting commercial properties that are LEED-certified by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) throughout its database so that subscribers could pinpoint high-performance green buildings. So far, more than 200 LEED-certified properties have been added to CoStar’s database.
As part of its corporate sustainability initiatives, CoStar also equipped its field researchers last year with more than 100 fuel-efficient hybrid cars so that, as researchers collect building-level information throughout the US and the UK, they also lower their carbon emissions.
For more information about CoStar, EPA’s Energy Star program, or USGBC’s LEED designation, visit the respective Web sites.
