The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2019 State Fact Sheets and 2020 list of U.S. metropolitan areas with the most ENERGY STAR certified buildings were released this week. The State Fact Sheets contain a wealth of information about program partners in each state and the District of Columbia, including details on the number of ENERGY STAR product manufacturers, product certifiers, the number of certified homes and buildings, and more. State Energy Offices across the country have supported the success of cities located in their states through long-term engagement with K-12 schools and other building owners to encourage certification through ENERGY STAR.
The Top Cities list is based on the number of buildings in a city that achieved ENERGY STAR certification in 2019. To qualify for the ENERGY STAR, a building must earn an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher (on a scale from 1 to 100), indicating that it outperforms 75 percent of similar buildings nationwide.
More than 36,000 diverse buildings have earned the ENERGY STAR since 1999, ranging from the Empire State Building to an elementary school in the mountains of Alaska. Together, these buildings have saved more than $4.8 billion on energy bills and helped achieve broad emissions reductions.
ENERGY STAR certified buildings use an average of 35 percent less energy and are responsible for 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than typical buildings. Many types of commercial facilities can earn the ENERGY STAR, including office buildings, schools, hospitals, and retail stores.
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including more than 40% of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with EPA to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped save American families and businesses nearly 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity and achieve over 3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions—all through voluntary action.