News

Energy Star Program May be Shut Off

May 13, 2025

The Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 “skinny” budget, released on May 2, proposes to cut funding for Energy Star, a voluntary, market-based program run by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

As reported by the Real Estate Roundtable, Energy Star is commercial real estate’s “most relied-upon public-private partnership with the federal government.” 

  • In an April letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, real estate trade groups, including CREFC, noted that nearly 25% of U.S. commercial building floor space used Portfolio Manager, EPA’s secure, open-source, online software:

It is our industry’s standard business tool to measure how much energy a building uses and saves. Real estate assets that do more with less energy – as quantified, monetized, and recognized through Portfolio Manager and other ENERGY STAR offerings – are critical to achieve EPA’s pillars to “power the great American comeback.
Go deeper: According to the U.S. Green Building Council, eliminating Energy Star “would be incredibly shortsighted” given the energy savings that the program affords to U.S. individuals and companies:
Energy Star saves consumers and businesses more than $40 billion every year just by giving them clear information about the energy efficiency of products or buildings. And it does that at a cost of $32 million. So it is an incredible bang for the buck.
In an email to The Washington Post, an EPA spokesperson said that the agency is undergoing a reorganization that affects the Office of Air and Radiation, including the office that runs the Energy Star program. According to the EPA official:
With this action, EPA is delivering organizational improvements to the personnel structure that will directly benefit the American people and better advance the agency’s core mission, while Powering the Great American Comeback.
What’s next: The program’s future lies in the hands of Congressional appropriators over the next few months as the administration’s budget is reviewed and debated.

CREFC will continue to work with other trades to ensure that Energy Star remains a viable private-public partnership and continues to facilitate energy efficiency and enhance building performance.

Contact Sairah Burki (sburki@crefc.org) with any questions.

Contact 

Sairah Burki
Managing Director,
Head of Regulatory Affairs and Sustainability
703.201.4294
sburki@crefc.org
The information provided herein is general in nature and for educational purposes only. CRE Finance Council makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, validity, usefulness, or suitability of the information provided. The information should not be relied upon or interpreted as legal, financial, tax, accounting, investment, commercial or other advice, and CRE Finance Council disclaims all liability for any such reliance. © 2025 CRE Finance Council. All rights reserved.

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