Multifamily housing property owners can cut carbon pollution and save money under an agreement signed by the EPA and Freddie Mac.
The agreement outlines strategies to save water, energy and money for multifamily property owners and residents. Housing industry studies have projected that multifamily properties can become 30 percent more efficient by 2020, unlocking $9 billion in energy savings and preventing more than 35 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year, the EPA says.
This memorandum of understanding outlines strategies to make multifamily housing more affordable by encouraging building owners and tenants to benchmark their energy and water performance and take steps to improve efficiency. Among those strategies:
- Freddie Mac will explore the collection of energy and water performance data from property owners during the loan underwriting and asset management processes.
- By demonstrating the financial value of energy and water efficiency to lenders and borrowers, Freddie Mac hopes to be able to influence lending practices in ways that encourage investments in energy efficiency and make multifamily housing units more affordable.
- EPA will assist Freddie Mac with these, and other, goals, by providing technical and educational support in the use of the Energy Star Portfolio Manager energy management and tracking tool as well as other Energy Star resources.
President Obama’s Climate Action Plan calls for helping multifamily buildings cut waste and becoming at least 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020.
Note: Just 2 percent of New York’s properties account for 48 percent of the city’s energy use. And about 75 percent of the city’s largest buildings are multifamily residential properties, many of which are highly inefficient, Energy Manager Today reported in September.
Source: Environmental Leader