Are you a local government leader looking to increase energy efficiency, save costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and attain a healthier, cleaner environment for all? Are you interested in attracting more attention to your energy efficiency programs and initiatives? Would you like to engage your staff, your residents, and the public at-large about your energy-saving initiatives to increase sustainability?

A recently released publication highlights how the EPA ENERGY STAR National Building Competition may present the opportunity to achieve these objectives, as it has for local governments across the nation. Building owners submit complete energy use data for the calendar year (January 1 - December 31) tracked using EPA's online energy tracking tool, Portfolio Manager. In order to win, a building must demonstrate the greatest percentage-based reduction in energy use intensity during the competition. Local governments are well-equipped with in-house facility and energy experts to be competitive; however they face unique challenges, such as competing interests and garnering support from elected officials and residents. The City of Atlanta was a 2012 Battle of the Buildings winner who attributed success to the "focused effort of a committed team consisting of representatives from all facility functions...with program support by city leaders."

Joining the competition benefits local governments through participation alone. By promoting the competition between fire stations in the Town of Cary, North Carolina, the eight stations saw an overall reduction of 7percent energy usage, with the most successful station achieving a 15 percent reduction. "Battle of the Building is useful as a tool because it's a competition; and with competition, you can target behavior," said Emily Barrett, the town's sustainability manager, "Firefighers are competitive."

Recent updates to the Portfolio Manager tool in 2013 ( that included advanced reporting capability and increased security, easier data entry, and improved benchmarking capabilities) have made it easier than ever to join the competition. Users have given positive feedback on its usability and capacity to help meet energy saving goals. "Recent updates to Portfolio Manager have been fantastic," said Randy Klindworth, Energy Manager at Hillsborough County, Florida, "The benefit to me as an Energy Manager is that it gives me a standardized way to compare facilities." Hillsborough County currently has 150 facilities in Portfolio Manager and anticipates having all 300 of its county facilities entered in by September of 2014.

Find out more about how the City of Charlotte, NC; the Town of Cary, NC; and Hillsborough County, FL achieved their energy efficiency goals and other benefits through participation in the EPA ENERGY STAR National Building Competition by downloading the ICMA report - Local Governments and EPA's ENERGY STAR Program Case Study Series on National Building Competition Participants. Click here to access the report.

The U.S. EPA recently announced the opening of registration for its 2014 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition. The 2014 Battle of the Buildings will pit teams of buildings against each other to encourage participants to motivate, collaborate, and learn new strategies that can lead to bigger savings for all. Sign up between April 16 and May 16, 2014.