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Changes to ENERGY STAR Leaders Recognition Criteria

On February 1, 2007, eligibility for ENERGY STAR Leaders Portfolio-Wide Improvement recognition changed from requiring an improvement of 10 points or more to requiring a reduction in energy use of 10% or more. The timeline and technical details for this change are outlined below. There is no change in the criteria for ENERGY STAR Leaders Top Performing Portfolio recognition, which still requires an average rating of 75 or more portfolio-wide.

Criteria Comparison (former vs. new)

The following table details the changes in criteria for ENERGY STAR Leaders Portfolio-Wide Improvement recognition.

Former Criteria New Criteria — Effective 2/1/07
Partner Requirements
  • Must be an ENERGY STAR partner
 Partner Requirements
  • No Change
Portfolio Requirements
  • Own 2 or more buildings eligible to receive an ENERGY STAR rating
  • Buildings eligible to receive the rating must comprise at least 50% of the owned floor area
 Portfolio Requirements
  • No Change
Data Entry Requirements
  • Enter into Portfolio Manager energy and operating data for all buildings eligible to receive an ENERGY STAR rating
  • Create a Leaders Account that includes all of these buildings
  • Certify that these buildings comprise at least 50% of your owned square footage, and that all data is complete and accurate
 Data Entry Requirements
  • Enter energy and operating data for all buildings into Portfolio Manager (including those buildings eligible and those ineligible for a rating).
  • Create a Leaders Account that includes all buildings (eligible and ineligible)
  • Enter the sum of total square footage for all owned buildings (eligible and ineligible)
  • Certify that all data is complete and accurate
Recognition Requirements
  • Achieve a portfolio-wide average improvement of 10, 20, or 30 points
  • Achieve a portfolio-wide average rating of 75 or higher
 Recognition Requirements
  • ENERGY STAR Leaders Portfolio-Wide Improvement — Achieve a 10% or greater reduction in normalized source energy use. Re-apply for recognition with each subsequent 10% reduction
  • ENERGY STAR Leaders Top Performing Portfolio — Achieve a portfolio-wide average rating of 75 or higher
Application Process
  • Portfolio Manager indicates eligible status
  • Submit electronic application
  • Print and sign letter for official hard-copy submission (required)
 Application Process
  • No Change

Note: Average point improvements and average energy reductions are currently both presented in the portfolio summary portion of the Leaders application. You can use these figures to assess your eligibility under both criteria.

To achieve ENERGY STAR Leaders Portfolio-Wide Improvement recognition, an organization must demonstrate a reduction of 10% or more in normalized source energy use across their entire building portfolio. Normalization accounts for changes in weather and building operating characteristics that may have occurred between the baseline period and the application year. Recognition is awarded for every 10% increment achieved.