The commercial real estate industry is voicing strong support for the Energy Star program as the Trump administration proposes substantial budget cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, a change that could jeopardize the voluntary program’s future or eliminate it entirely.
The Energy Star program, launched in 1992, identifies energy-efficient products, appliances, and buildings for consumers. Major industry associations warn that eliminating Energy Star could harm established investment and management practices in the sector, especially amid growing demands for climate reporting.
The Trump administration’s “skinny budget,” proposed May 2, features a 55 percent reduction to the Environmental Protection Agency’s fiscal year 2025 budget—approximately $5 billion annually. If passed, one key line item—the Atmospheric Protection Program, under which the Energy Star program sits—would be cut completely.
In proposing the cut, the administration writes: “The Atmospheric Protection Program is an overreach of Government authority that imposes unnecessary and radical climate change regulations on businesses and stifles economic growth. By prioritizing climate change over job creation and energy independence, the program has burdened American industries with costly mandates, ultimately hurting consumers and taxpayers. This program is eliminated in the 2026 Budget.”
On May 7, The Real Estate Roundtable responded to reports regarding the federal government’s budget proposal and the reorganization and/or elimination of the Energy Star program. “Only the federal government has the data, talent, lab research, and other expertise necessary to run all facets of ENERGY STAR efficiently and impartially,” said Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey D. DeBoer in a statement. “Over the course of 35 years, Congress has authorized ENERGY STAR through bipartisan legislation on multiple occasions. The Real Estate Roundtable looks forward to collaborating with the Trump Administration, Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and our allies in the product manufacturing sector to transition the landmark ENERGY STAR public-private partnership as it evolves to support a new generation of cutting-edge buildings, plants, and consumer products.”
BXP, the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, uses Energy Star extensively to operate buildings more efficiently and develop energy conservation measure investment strategies, says Ben Myers, senior vice president, sustainability at BXP. “Energy Star is used to benchmark 100 percent of our actively managed buildings. If a score is below 75, which is the required minimum for Energy Star certification, it is considered an indicator of underperformance or a change in use that we actively address.” (A “change in use” in Energy Star refers to any modification in how a property is operated, impacting its energy consumption profile.)
Energy Star ratings are also used to evaluate real estate firms. “Good Energy Star data is a proxy for quality of management of a property or a property company,” says Ken Rosenfeld, director of state and local affairs at BOMA, the Building Owners and Managers Association. “It is a best practice for our members to be using it, and almost all of them are.” At BXP, Myers says, “We are in the premier workplace business, and the Energy Star label is one of the signals we use to communicate quality to our clients and other stakeholders.”
Industry support grows
In April, both the U.S. Green Building Council and the Real Estate Roundtable sent letters to EPA administrator Lee Zeldin explaining how important Energy Star is to the commercial real estate industry.
The Roundtable letter, dated April 4, 2025, is cosigned by 13 industry groups—the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International, CRE Finance Council, International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), Leading Builders of America, the National Apartment Association, NAIOP, Nareit, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the National Association of REALTORS®, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), and the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY). The letter emphasizes how Energy Star supports Zeldin’s stated EPA agenda.
Zeldin’s agenda, released February 2nd, includes promoting energy independence, reducing regulatory burdens (by easing owners’ compliance with state and local carbon reporting requirements, for example), and freeing up electric grid capacity for AI.
The U.S. Green Building Council letter was co-authored by the Alliance to Save Energy and signed by 1,100 companies. “The standardization provided by Portfolio Manager is crucial for both operational improvements and market competitiveness, as the performance scores influence investment decisions, operational efficiency measures, and asset valuations,” states the U.S. Green Building Council letter to EPA’s Zeldin.
According to the EPA, owners of more than 465,000 buildings, representing more than 25 percent of commercial floor space in the United States, use Energy Star Portfolio Manager. In addition to benchmarking building performance (including water use and waste), the program provides guidance on best practices for energy efficiency, thereby helping building operators cut energy costs by 10 percent to 30 percent, according to the EPA.
“Energy Star has become an essential tool for our industry to measure and benchmark energy performance—allowing owners to not only prioritize capital spend and calculate savings, but differentiate their assets with residents and investors alike,” says Katie Rothenberg, vice president of ESG for AvalonBay Communities, a large multifamily REIT.
Congress and the administration have until September 30th to pass legislation for the fiscal year 2026 federal spending or pass a short-term continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown.
