Energy Department partnership with CoStar Group will study sustainability impact on property valuation

U.S. Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative will partner with CoStar Group, Inc., a provider of data and intelligence solutions to commercial real estate professionals, on a program to boost building energy efficiency.

DOE and CoStar Group will jointly support an effort to display building energy efficiency information in CoStar Group's online property databases. The partnership will also perform new research to evaluate the impact of energy efficiency and sustainability on real estate valuation; building operating income and expenses; tenant health, comfort, and productivity; and other topics.

CoStar will display energy-related information that is already being made publicly accessible by state and local governments that have adopted building energy transparency laws. It plans to begin displaying energy-related information for buildings in Chicago and Washington, D.C., this summer, followed by buildings in other applicable states and localities beginning this fall.

Energy-related information for about 60,000 commercial and multifamily buildings nationwide will become publicly accessible under state or local energy transparency laws over the next few years. CoStar Group currently provides data on the more than 15,000 buildings that have achieved ENERGY STAR certification and that have achieved LEED certification in its online property databases and marketplaces.