The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today released a list of the 25 top cities in the nation ranked by the number of Energy Star certified buildings in 2012. EPA released the list to demonstrate climate change actions being taken by owners and managers of commercial buildings while providing financial savings to their business operations at the same time.
The list was topped by Los Angeles for the fifth straight year. Unfortunately, neither Bakersfield nor any other city in the San Joaquin Valley, which has some of the nation's worst air quality, made the top 25 list of metropolitan areas.
Nevertheless, EPA said that more than 20,000 Energy Star buildings across the country helped save more than $2.7 billion in utility bills while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to more than two million homes.
“Through their partnership with EPA, the owners and managers of Energy Star certified buildings are helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions while saving on utility bills,” said EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe. “With Energy Star, cities across America are helping achieve President Obama’s goal to cut in half the energy wasted by our businesses over the next 20 years.”
Commercial buildings generate about 17 percent of GHG emissions in the United States at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. The number of Energy Star certified buildings increased by more than 24 percent compared to last year according to EPA.
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