FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is ESPM?
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager (ESPM) is a software application for commercial real estate, administered by the U.S. EPA. Real estate environmental data including energy, water, and waste can be entered into ESPM with benefits such as data management, analytics, benchmarking, compliance reporting, and the potential to achieve ENERGY STAR certification. Data can be injected into and retrieved from ESPM for value-added purposes via an Application Programming Interface (API), which is freely available to third parties willing to integrate. ESPM is also the system upon which many state, local, and green lending disclosure requirements rely. According to the U.S. EPA, more than 330,000 buildings comprising nearly 25% of all commercial building floor space in the U.S. use ESPM. Suffice it to say, ESPM is a critical part of the real estate ecosystem and a model for comparable programs globally.
What does Measurabl know about government plans for ENERGY STAR?
We remain optimistic the value and importance of ESPM is self-evident and will prevail in any attempt to fundamentally alter its role in our industry. But, again, this is too important not to at the same time be clear-eyed on the risks and take proactive, as opposed to reactive, steps to mitigate those risks. Measurabl is committed to stewarding the value propositions necessary for our industry to progress on its path to sustainable, and profitable, real estate.
We heard similar concerns about ESPM during the 2016-2020 administration. At that time, Measurabl circulated a statement on what we would do if ESPM were to be materially constrained or shut down. That original communication is posted publicly to our blog and linked here for your reference.
But this time is different. The pace and tenor of changes driven by the current administration are unlike the first. The risk to critical programs like ESPM is clearly elevated. Therefore we have updated our previous position to add proactive measures we’ve already implemented, as well as additional ones to roll out, with the goal of ensuring your business operations, data, and our broader industry are best equipped to deal with any possible diminution or elimination of ESPM.
Will my data still be safe if ESPM is disrupted?
Yes. Your data that is in ENERGY STAR is securely backed up in Measurabl and will remain accessible regardless of any changes to ESPM. We would encourage all of our customers to ensure their ENERGY STAR data is as current as possible to help mitigate any potential gaps, particularly for 2024.
Does Measurabl’s Quantum Cloud data structure match ESPM?
The range and type of data supported by Measurabl mirrors that of ESPM, so your data collection initiatives will continue under a consistent data model.
Does Measurabl use ESPM scoring methodology? How will my buildings be scored and benchmarked?
Your buildings are, and will continue to be scored and benchmarked using Measurabl’s proprietary methodology, which is not reliant on ESPM. In time, we will seek to replicate the ESPM scoring methodology and deliver ESPM’s traditional scoring system should EPA cease to do so.
Can I easily back up my ENERGY STAR data?
Yes, you can trigger a sync of your data from ESPM to Measurabl at any time by selecting “Refresh” in Legacy Core. Doing so will ensure that your latest data updates in ESPM are reflected in Measurabl.
You can also download all of your data from ESPM at any time by https://portfoliomanager.energystar.gov/pm/home and selecting “Download your entire portfolio to Excel” on the bottom-left of the landing page. ENERGY STAR provides more information on this process here.
That export can be formatted to align with Measurabl’s bulk upload requirements for onboarding.
What about future reporting to local disclosures?
State, local, and loan-related disclosures relying on the Statement of Energy Performance generated by ESPM may require an alternative export and format. Measurabl has prepared a baseline file that can be exported from Data Manager Lite and leveraged in your reporting. We commit to working with relevant authorities to iterate on this file to satisfy their particular needs.