First 20 energy-efficient buildings get Energy Star label

EPA rates energy performance on actual energy use, and can compare buildings by factors such as geographic location and level of business activity.

Managers of any office building in the United States can use a new Internet-based tool http://www.epa.gov/buildinglabel to rate their energy performance on a uniform scale of zero to 100; ratings over 75 earn owners the right to display the Energy Star label.

The Energy Star Building label is the latest in a series of EPA partnership programs designed to encourage investments in energy efficient technologies. Beginning with the Energy Star label program for computers in 1992, this initiative has expanded to include major appliances, residential windows, lighting fixtures, consumer electronics, heating and air conditioning systems, office equipment, and now, buildings.

The first 20 buildings to earn the Energy Star designation are the Occidental Chemical Center, Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Centex Building, Dallas; Denver Place, Plaza Tower and Manville Plaza, Denver; Ridgehaven Green Building, San Diego; Landmark II Building and 6310 San Vicente, Los Angeles; 2800 28th Street, Santa Monica, Calif.; Lockheed Martin, Orlando, Fla.; Emigrant Savings Bank and Foley Square Federal Office Building, New York City; One State Street, Hartford, Conn.; Two Twenty Two Berkeley, Boston; 20 Commerce Drive, Cranford, N.J.; 1811 and 2000 Bering, Houston; Frank J. Lausche State Office Building, Cleveland; International Finance Corporation Building, Wash., D.C.; and Perimeter Center South, Atlanta.

Commenting, US EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner said: “Every year, US businesses pour at least $25 billion dollars of profits down the drain in the form of wasted energy from inefficient buildings. Energy efficient buildings not only can save millions of dollars in savings for businesses, they also can help protect the health and environment of all Americans by reducing the pollution that contributes to global warming.”