Energy efficiency is at the forefront of local and global policy changes. But how can local governments monitor and reduce their overall energy consumption, lower energy costs, and protect the environment? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR is a voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. The attached ENERGY STAR primer provides a list of resources and descriptions for local governments to use as they create and design their own ENERGY STAR web portals.  

 

 

 

 

By utilizing ENERGY STAR tools and resources, governments can also significantly lower energy costs, thus freeing up resources that can be reinvested back in the local community. Numerous policies and voluntary programs are emerging across the country that leverage ENERGY STAR. For instance, energy disclosure laws that mandate energy benchmarking for commercial buildings often require governments to track energy usage first, before the law expands to cover other commercial buildings. For example, a great place to start is EPA's ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, an online tool local governments can use to measure and track energy and water consumption, as well as greenhouse gas emissions. It can be used to benchmark the performance of one building or a whole portfolio of buildings, all in a secure online environment.

Learn more about how ENERGY STAR can help by downloading this document.