DOE and The Appraisal Foundation Announce New Partnership to Focus on Energy Performance and Building Appraisals

S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a partnership with The Appraisal Foundation that will help expand access to energy efficiency and building performance information for commercial buildings and help American businesses to reduce energy waste.  Under the new partnership, the Department of Energy and The Appraisal Foundation will work to ensure that appraisers nationwide have the information, practical guidelines, and professional resources they need to evaluate energy performance when conducting commercial building appraisals. This will help enable investors, building owners and operators, and others to accurately assess the value of energy efficiency as part of the building's overall appraisal.



"Providing appraisers with the tools to accurately include energy performance when they place a value on a commercial building will help American businesses and institutions save money by saving energy," said Secretary Chu. "If better performing buildings have a higher value, it will help enable the upfront investment for energy efficiency upgrades."



"This type of public-private partnership is critical to help advance energy efficiency, save companies money and create good paying jobs," said Penny Pritzker, chairman and CEO of Pritzker Realty Group, and a member of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. "The greener we can make commercial properties, the more we increase their value and the more people we put to work."



Last year, commercial buildings accounted for about 20 percent of all the energy used in the U.S.  Through improvements in insulation, lighting and the use of daylight, windows, and heating and cooling systems, America's commercial buildings can be more energy efficient, which saves money for businesses and helps to make them more competitive.



Today's partnership will help to make sure that the market is equipped with the information it needs to make sure that the utility bill savings that come with building efficiency improvements are appropriately factored into the building's overall value.  In conjunction with The Appraisal Foundation, DOE will develop information and educational tools relating to valuing green buildings based on the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice - the generally accepted standards for U.S. building appraisers. These tools and resources will help appraisers appropriately include energy performance and sustainability in valuations.



Under the partnership, the Department of Energy will also develop educational materials, and create a database to provide appraisers with energy-savings data, Federal green building programs and policies, and additional information on energy performance. Read the full text of the partnership agreement (pdf - 195 kb).



This partnership is one of the steps the Department is taking as part of the part of President Obama's Better Buildings Initiative announced in February. The goal is to make commercial buildings more efficient, saving American businesses about $40 billion annually. The Initiative will accelerate private sector investment in energy efficiency to create jobs and build a stronger economy.  Strategies include challenging CEOs, University Presidents, and local governments to make their organizations leaders in saving energy; the Better Buildings Community Upgrade Program which has enabled more than 40 state and local governments to develop replicable business models that encourage innovation and investment in a sustainable energy efficiency industry; and better financing, workforce development, and state and local policies.



For more information go to the Better Buildings Initiative website.



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About The Appraisal Foundation

The Appraisal Foundation is a Congressionally authorized non-profit organization established in 1987 and is dedicated to the advancement of professional valuation.  The Appraisal Foundation accomplishes its mission through the work of its three independent Boards:  the Appraisal Practices Board (APB), the Appraiser Qualifications Board (AQB), and the Appraisal Standards Board (ASB).



The Appraisal Foundation is the author of the generally recognized standards of professional practice for the valuation profession, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).   In addition, the Foundation establishes the minimum education, experience and examination requirements for state licensed and state certified real property appraisers.  The Appraisal Foundation also issues voluntary guidance on recognized valuation methods and techniques.