Energy Star to Gain $33M Lifeline From Congress for 2026

The Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program has received congressional approval for $33 million in fiscal year 2026 funding, in a bill now awaiting the president’s signature, preserving a key benchmarking tool used by about a quarter of U.S. commercial building space.

This is an increase from fiscal year 2024, when the program received $32 million. The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 8, and by the Senate on Jan. 15.

Energy Star’s funding has steadily declined over the past decade, as annual funding levels were determined by the administration in office. Once signed into law, the bill would mark the first time Congress has set a mandatory annual funding level for Energy Star, requiring the administration to fund the program through the fiscal year, according to the U.S. Green Building Council.

Uncertainty around Energy Star grew in May 2025, after the Trump administration released its FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request, also known as “the skinny budget.” The request outlined a proposal that would eliminate the EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Protection, which oversees the program.

Since its founding in 1992, the initiative has resulted in more than $500 billion in energy savings and reduced 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, Energy Star’s Annual Reports show. Annually, the program contributes $40 billion in energy savings, Cliff Majersik, senior advisor at the Institute for Market Transformation, told Commercial Property Executive. He said the initiative has played a vital role in improving energy efficiency across buildings nationwide through its Portfolio Manager benchmarking tool.

Why Energy Star matters for owners, operators

Congressional funding ensures Energy Star can continue helping building owners and operators measure energy performance and reduce operating costs through Portfolio Manager.

“Anybody who uses energy at all—a building owner or tenant paying electricity bills—benefit from the Energy Star program,” Jon Lemmond, managing director, technical energy solutions for JLL’s energy advisory group told CPE. “Without Energy Star, there is a risk of increased energy costs, an increase chance of losing power in blackouts and a slowdown of adding new generation to the grid.”

As questions emerged about the program’s future, industry professionals rallied to advocate for the program’s importance not only to the commercial real estate industry, but also to broader energy efficiency needs. This resulted in more than 900 letters sent to Congress, and USGBC said more than 1,000 companies and organizations signed its industry letter supporting the program. If the program sees further uncertainty past 2026, Lemmond believes Congress will receive the same push back as it did to keep Energy Star in place.

“There is no other program that could easily replace the neutrality of the Energy Star program,” Majersik said. “It would have cost real estate tens of millions of dollars to create inferior alternatives to the services they receive free from Energy Star to say nothing of the extra money they would have wasted on energy that Energy Star would have helped them save.”