Your Building Has a Strong ENERGY STAR® Score. Is It Certified?
Why a strong energy performance score is only the beginning, and how property owners and managers can identify certification opportunities across their portfolios.
Your building has an ENERGY STAR® score of 82. That's encouraging. It means the property performs better than most comparable buildings nationwide, based on measured energy consumption and relevant operating characteristics.
But is the building ENERGY STAR certified?
Not necessarily.
It's an important distinction for building owners and property managers, particularly as energy performance becomes part of conversations with tenants, investors, and other stakeholders.
A strong ENERGY STAR score demonstrates how a building performs relative to comparable properties. ENERGY STAR certification goes further, providing official recognition supported by professional verification.
For owners and managers responsible for multiple properties, the opportunity can be even greater. Several buildings across a portfolio may already meet the performance threshold for certification without their owners realizing it.
A Strong ENERGY STAR Score Is Not the Same as Certification
ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is a free online tool used to track energy consumption and benchmark building performance.
For eligible property types, the platform generates a score from 1 to 100, comparing a building's energy performance with similar properties in the same country.
A score of 50 represents median performance. A score of 75 or higher indicates performance in the top 25% of comparable properties, making the building a potential candidate for ENERGY STAR certification.
However, a score of 75 or higher does not automatically make a building certified.
Certification requires additional eligibility checks, verification of the reported information by a qualified licensed professional, and approval from the applicable program administrator.
In the United States, certification is administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In Canada, it is administered by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
Certification is awarded annually, meaning properties must continue to demonstrate qualifying performance to earn recognition in subsequent years.
For property owners already investing in energy management, understanding this distinction can be the first step toward receiving formal recognition for their buildings' performance.
What Does It Take to Become ENERGY STAR Certified?
For a building that already has a qualifying score, the next step is determining whether it satisfies the remaining certification requirements.
The process generally involves four stages.
1. Confirm Building Eligibility
The property must belong to an eligible building category, have sufficient metered energy consumption data, and satisfy the applicable program requirements.
Eligibility can differ between Canada and the United States, making it important to assess each property under the appropriate certification program.
2. Review Energy and Operating Data
ENERGY STAR scores are calculated using reported energy consumption and building characteristics.
Information such as utility data, gross floor area, operating hours, and other applicable property details must be complete and accurate.
Errors or inconsistencies can affect the score and create problems during verification.
3. Complete Licensed Professional Verification
An appropriately licensed professional must verify the information submitted in the certification application.
This includes reviewing the building's energy data, reported operating characteristics, and compliance with applicable indoor environmental quality criteria.
Verification helps establish that the reported performance is reliable and has not been achieved at the expense of acceptable indoor conditions.
4. Submit the Certification Application
Once the required information has been reviewed and verified, the application can be submitted through Portfolio Manager for assessment by the applicable program administrator.
Certification is awarded when the property satisfies all relevant requirements.
While ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager provides the benchmarking platform, pursuing certification involves additional technical and administrative steps.
Zenith Net-Zero helps building owners and managers navigate the process, from assessing eligibility and reviewing energy data to providing the required licensed professional verification and preparing certification applications.
For organizations managing multiple properties, this integrated approach can simplify the certification process and reduce the administrative burden on internal teams.
How Many Buildings in Your Portfolio Are Ready for ENERGY STAR® Certification?
Consider a property management company responsible for 40 commercial buildings across several cities.
Its team already tracks utility consumption, maintains property information, and benchmarks energy performance as part of its regular operations.
Among those 40 buildings, some have ENERGY STAR scores above 75. Others are approaching the threshold. A few have incomplete records or have never been formally assessed for certification eligibility.
How many could qualify for ENERGY STAR certification today?
The answer might be more than the company expects.
For organizations managing substantial commercial real estate portfolios, certification opportunities can be overlooked when energy performance is assessed building by building rather than across the portfolio.
A coordinated portfolio review can help identify properties that are already positioned to pursue certification while highlighting others that may require additional preparation.
Turning Building Data Into a Portfolio Certification Strategy
Rather than approaching each building as a separate project, portfolio owners and managers can establish a systematic process for evaluating certification readiness.
Properties can be organized into three categories:
Ready for certification review: Buildings with qualifying ENERGY STAR scores and complete, reliable energy records.
Potentially eligible, but requiring additional preparation: Buildings with qualifying scores that need updated documentation, data corrections, or further eligibility checks.
Candidates for future certification: Buildings that do not yet meet the required performance threshold but could benefit from continued benchmarking and energy performance improvements.
This approach gives decision-makers a clearer understanding of where certification opportunities exist across their holdings.
For example, a hypothetical portfolio review might reveal that 12 of 40 properties have scores above 75, but only four have previously pursued certification.
That does not mean all eight remaining properties will qualify. Each must satisfy the program's requirements.
However, identifying those eight properties creates a practical starting point for further evaluation.
A coordinated approach can help portfolio managers prioritize applications, organize documentation, schedule professional verification, and plan certification activities more consistently.
Why a Portfolio-Wide Approach Makes Business Sense
For large property owners, the value extends beyond the potential recognition of individual buildings.
A systematic certification strategy can help organizations:
Identify eligible properties that may have been overlooked.
Establish consistent documentation and verification procedures.
Coordinate certification activities across different buildings and locations.
Track which properties have achieved certification and which may qualify next.
Support portfolio-level sustainability reporting with recognized building performance credentials.
Because certification is annual, maintaining accurate records and monitoring building performance also supports future applications.
For owners managing buildings in both Canada and the United States, a coordinated strategy can account for country-specific eligibility and application requirements while maintaining a consistent internal process.
A portfolio may already contain several high-performing buildings. The opportunity lies in identifying which ones qualify and developing an efficient plan to pursue certification.
A Real Example: A Historic Toronto Building That Earned Certification Six Times
ENERGY STAR certification is not limited to newly constructed buildings or properties that have undergone major renovations.
Berkeley Castle, a heritage-designated building dating back to 1871 in downtown Toronto, offers an interesting example.
According to a case study published by Natural Resources Canada in July 2026, the property has achieved ENERGY STAR certification six times since 2019 and earned an ENERGY STAR score of 87 for 2025.
The building's energy management strategy has emphasized ongoing operational attention, including monitoring consumption, reviewing building systems, and maintaining reliable energy records.
The case study also reports a reduction in energy use intensity from 215 to 161 ekWh/m² between 2021 and 2024.
Berkeley Castle illustrates how an older property can demonstrate strong energy performance through sustained management practices.
It also highlights an important lesson for owners of diverse real estate portfolios: a building's age or architectural characteristics do not necessarily determine its potential for strong energy performance.
For portfolio managers responsible for properties of different ages and operating profiles, benchmarking can help reveal where performance is already strong and where further improvements may be needed.
Why Pursue Certification If Your Building Is Already Performing Well?
A strong ENERGY STAR score provides a useful benchmark. It allows owners and managers to understand how a property's measured energy performance compares with similar buildings.
Certification adds professional verification and formal recognition.
In Canada, certified buildings can appear in Natural Resources Canada's ENERGY STAR registry. In the United States, certified properties can receive EPA recognition and appear in the ENERGY STAR certified buildings directory.
This recognition can be valuable in several ways.
Credible Sustainability Communication
Certification provides a recognized basis for communicating strong building energy performance rather than relying solely on general sustainability claims.
Tenant and Investor Engagement
Official recognition can help demonstrate an owner's commitment to tracking and maintaining energy performance.
Portfolio-Wide Visibility
For organizations managing multiple properties, certification can help distinguish buildings that have achieved recognized performance standards and provide clearer information for sustainability reporting.
Continued Energy Management
Because certification is annual, maintaining qualifying performance encourages ongoing monitoring, accurate recordkeeping, and attention to building operations.
While certification does not guarantee higher rents, occupancy, or property values, it provides a recognized way to communicate verified energy performance to stakeholders.
For owners of larger portfolios, that recognition can contribute to a broader strategy for documenting and communicating building performance.
Your Next Step: Find Out Which Buildings Qualify
If your building has an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher, it may already be a candidate for certification.
For organizations managing multiple properties, the opportunity is broader.
How many buildings in your portfolio have qualifying scores? How many have already been certified? And how many could be ready for certification with the appropriate review and documentation?
Answering these questions can uncover opportunities to recognize strong energy performance across an entire portfolio.
Zenith Net-Zero provides ENERGY STAR certification services for commercial building owners and property managers across Canada and the United States.
Our services include certification readiness assessments, energy data review, licensed professional verification, and certification application support.
Zenith Net-Zero is also accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) for specified ISO 14064 greenhouse gas validation and verification activities, reflecting our broader expertise in independent environmental verification.
Whether you manage one building or an extensive property portfolio, our team can help you identify certification opportunities and manage the process efficiently.
Your buildings may already be performing at a level worth recognizing.
The next step is determining which properties are ready for certification.
Ready to Certify Your Building or Portfolio?
Discover which properties may qualify and how Zenith Net-Zero can support your certification goals. REQUEST AN ENERGY STAR® CERTIFICATION QUOTE : chris.langan@zenithnet-zero.com
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