In July, the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program will release a complete upgrade for its Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool for commercial buildings.
The new Portfolio Manager will feature an easier-to-use interface, streamlined functionality, improved usability and enhanced reporting features. For example, data entry will be easier with enhanced graphics, wizards and prompts. Collaboration is improved with advanced sharing and reporting functions. Custom tabs let users plan and set goals to track both current and future projects.
Portfolio Manager is a no-cost online resource that lets users benchmark against national averages, while tracking and managing energy and water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. It is currently used by more than 70,000 individual accounts to measure, track, assess and report on the energy and water performance of more than 300,000 commercial buildings nationwide – nearly 40 percent of the nation’s commercial building space.
Originally released in 2000, Portfolio Manager has helped US businesses set investment priorities, identify under-performing buildings, verify efficiency improvements and receive EPA recognition for superior energy performance. To date, more than 20,000 buildings have earned EPA’s Energy Star certification.
Recently, Boston became the eighth city in the US to mandate energy benchmarking with Portfolio Manager. The other cities are: New York City, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis and Philadelphia.