SIG Awarded 2016 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year!

ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year
ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year 2016 Award

Sustainable Investment Group (SIG) is proud to announce that we have been named by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a 2016 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year! SIG was 1 of only 5 new companies to receive the Partner of the Year: Service and Product Provider distinction. Our company has received this honor for improving the average ENERGY STAR score in our client buildings, supporting cities and counties across the nation in ENERGY STAR benchmarking ordinance compliance, and promoting ENERGY STAR and Portfolio Manager® through training classes, marketing materials, speaking engagements, and client relationships. In 2015 alone, SIG helped 162 buildings across the United States receive ENERGY STAR labels – not to mention the over 300 properties that we benchmarked using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, representing 100% of our customer portfolio. In terms of environmental impact, SIG’s work with ENERGY STAR translated to savings of more than 547,000 metric tons of CO2 last year.

Energy Star Map
ENERGY STAR Across the US

To facilitate the measuring and comparison of buildings’ energy performance, the EPA created the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. This interactive online tool tracks energy and water consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions. After the necessary space type and utility bill data is entered into the system, the Portfolio Manager assigns the building a score on a scale from 1 to 100. ENERGY STAR calculates the score by using a building’s key characteristics (such as size, location, number and type of occupants) to compare the facility’s energy usage to similar buildings across the country. In doing so, the score reflects the building’s energy performance in a manner much like a percentile. For instance, a score of 50 indicates average energy performance while scores of 75 and above indicate top energy performance and make a building eligible for ENERGY STAR certification.

Why do building owners and managers choose to benchmark their buildings’ energy performance with ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager? The tracking of a building’s energy and water use can alert Portfolio Manager users to opportunities for small investments that result in long-term savings through lowered operating costs. The interface’s real-time tracking and updates also allow users to easily document the energy and water savings that result from these operating improvements and share them with property managers, service providers, and building tenants. Additionally, because the Portfolio Manager compares a building’s performance against an entire portfolio of similar buildings, lower ENERGY STAR scores can indicate opportunities for improvements in energy efficiency. By referencing similar buildings with a higher score, building owners and managers can look for best energy efficiency practices to implement within their buildings as well. These financial benefits come in addition to the environmental benefits of fewer emissions and less environmental impact.

If you would like help in achieving the financial and environmental benefits of a 2016 ENERGY STAR label for your property, please call our office at (404) 343-3835 or send an email to our ENERGY STAR Team Lead, Jeff Stewart, at jeffs@sigearth.com. For more information on SIG’s ENERGY STAR credentials, visit our ENERGY STAR page to read about why experience matters. To view a complete list of SIG’s ENERGY STAR and LEED projects, please visit our company’s Green Building Information Gateway (GBIG) page, which you can access by signing up for a free account and then searching for Sustainable Investment Group.

© 2016 Sustainable Investment Group (SIG). All Rights Reserved.