Today, the U.S. House passed an energy efficiency bill that includes a groundbreaking “Tenant Star” program designed to accelerate energy efficiency in leased commercial spaces, which could cut utility bills for landlords and tenants by an estimated $2 billion dollars by 2030 and reduce carbon emissions by nearly 12 million metric tons.
The bipartisan “Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014” (HR 2126) includes a Better Buildings section with the Tenant Star provisions, widely endorsed by the Real Estate Roundtable, private industry and energy efficiency advocates. Tenant Star would establish a voluntary, cost-free certification and recognition program to promote energy efficiency during design and occupancy of leased space. As a result, it would save money for businesses—both tenants and landlords when energy use decreases.
Introduced by Representatives David McKinley (R-WV) and Peter Welch (D-VT), and containing real world best practices and results from NRDC’s High Performance Tenant Demonstration Project, the bill unanimously passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee in January and now heads to the Senate.
Meanwhile, on the Senate side, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) last week reintroduced their Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S 2024) with the Tenant Star provisions.
Read The Rest Of The Story Here: NRDC Staff Blog
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