The EPA’s ENERGY STAR label launched the green building certification movement in 1999. To recognize the 15th year anniversary of energy efficient building certification, the EPA sponsored a volume recognition event called Certification Nation. SIG is honored to rank sixth in the nation for registering 157 buildings for ENERGY STAR certification in 2014. That’s more than two certifications a week, for every week in 2014! This number earned Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) an Elite Member status with the EPA. There were only eight other companies in 2014 to earn this status.

As a full service green building consulting firm, Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) partners with the ENERGY STAR program to benchmark and coach our clients to improve energy efficiency in existing commercial real estate. Certification Nation acknowledges SIG as an Elite member of the program and national leader of the green building movement among giants like Target, Kroger, CBRE, and JLL. ENERGY STAR certification is an annual process that starts with accurately defining your building in the online database and entering energy bills to benchmark against similar building and program types. Scores are earned between 0 and 100. Buildings must earn at least a 75 to be ENERGY STAR Certified, meaning, they perform in the top 25% of similar buildings.

ENERGY STAR certifications have been a foundational service in SIG’s toolbox since the company was founded in 2008. Today, SIG’s team of engineers covers buildings large and small coast-to-coast, and their work saves our clients tens of thousands of dollars in operating costs each year.

“Reaching the 150 certified building threshold was a goal we set forth at the start of the year. We are overjoyed to have helped all of our clients reach their energy conservation goals in this effort. One of my proudest moments was to help Granite Properties with two of their buildings in Alpharetta, GA. Thanks to the energy efficiency measures we identified, Granite Properties implemented them in the buildings, Parkside Terrace East & West, which raised their scores 7 and 18 points respectively.” – Jeff Stewart, ENERGY STAR Team Leader, EIT, LEED AP O+M

1999 saw the first ENERGY STAR certified green building, the Ridgehaven building owned by the City of San Diego, California. Its initial rating was a 90, and its current score is a 92, or in the 92th percentile of all buildings. The building with the longest consecutive ENERGY STAR certifications, since 2000, is the US Airways Corporate Headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. Its initial rating was a 75, and its current score is a 95.

Fifteen years seems like a short time to infiltrate a market, but when your service saves its users millions of dollars, and has partners like LEED, it’s easy to understand ENERGY STAR’S popularity and endurance.

© 2015 Sustainable Investment Group (SIG). All Rights Reserved.