PHILADELPHIA (March 15, 2011) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that more buildings than ever have earned the EPA’s Energy Star certification in 2010. The Philadelphia-area added many first-time labeled Energy Star buildings in 2010, jumping to a national ranking of 14th up from 24th. Many of the most recently added buildings in Philadelphia are schools. Energy Star buildings play an important role in preventing harmful air emissions that effect climate change, plus they reduce energy use and save money.

“I am pleased to see progress across the Philadelphia metropolitan area in energy efficiency and renewable energy,” said EPA mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “From Philadelphia to the smaller communities across the region, we are seeing growth in design, construction and retrofits to energy challenges of the 21st century.”

Philadelphia has 21 commercial Energy Star certified buildings, and across the country more than 6,200 commercial buildings earned the Energy Star in 2010. Nationally this is an increase of nearly 60 percent compared to 2009. Since EPA awarded the first Energy Star to a building in 1999, more than 12,600 buildings have been certified.

Energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. Commercial buildings that earn the Energy Star must perform in the top 25 percent of buildings nationwide compared to similar buildings and be independently verified by a licensed professional engineer or registered architect each year. Energy Star certified buildings use 35 percent less energy and emit 35 percent less carbon dioxide than average buildings. Fourteen types of commercial buildings can earn the Energy Star, including office buildings, K-12 schools, and retail stores.

To see a short video about one of Philadelphia’s recently labeled buildings:
http://www.epa.gov/region3/multimedia/playercontents/video/septa/septa2.html

More information on the other top cities in 2010 with Energy Star certified buildings:
http://www.energystar.gov/TopCities

More information on EPA’s real-time registry of all Energy Star certified buildings:
http://energystar.gov/buildinglist

More information about earning the Energy Star for commercial buildings:
http://energystar.gov/labeledbuildings