LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG) a 2011 ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency. CB Richard Ellis’s (CBRE) accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., on April 12, 2011.
CBRE, an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for four years in a row, will be honored with the EPA’s highest award, for its long-term commitment to energy efficiency. CBRE was the first commercial real estate services company to announce a carbon neutral strategy. In addition, the Company is assisting property owners and occupiers with energy efficiency programs at properties it manages around the world.
A significant element of CBRE’s sustainability efforts is participation in the ENERGY STAR program. In 2007, the Company mandated that all office buildings over 50,000 square feet managed by its U.S. Asset Services Group be registered with ENERGY STAR. Today, more than 1,400 CBRE-managed buildings, or nearly 250 million square feet, are participating in the program, significantly more than any other third-party management company. At year end 2010, more than 250 of these properties had been recognized for exemplary performance by ENERGY STAR through the award of the ENERGY STAR plaque.
“We are again greatly honored to be recognized by the EPA, and this award attests to the continued efforts of our clients, employees and tenants who work hard to make a difference,” said David Pogue, national director of sustainability and head of the Company’s green initiative in the Americas region. “Sustainability is a core value of CBRE and we rely on the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program as a key partner in our efforts to improve the workplace environment of the space we manage and occupy across the U.S.”
“CBRE has earned the EPA’s highest ENERGY STAR award - the 2011 Sustained Excellence Award,” said Elizabeth Craig, Acting Director of EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Programs. “CBRE’s long-term leadership and commitment to energy efficiency demonstrates the types of accomplishments that we can all achieve in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting our global environment. We look forward to their continued partnership and leadership.”
In the U.S., CBRE offers a wide range of sustainability programs including the establishment of the Green Knights, a nationwide team of sustainability advocates within the Company’s Asset Services and Global Corporate Services teams, which has more than 100 participants. More than 450 CBRE professionals globally have earned LEED® Professional Credentials™ and CBRE currently manages nearly 150 buildings certified under the LEED for Existing Buildings rating system, demonstrating the Company’s leadership in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program, the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Additionally, CBRE conducts BOMA BEEP (Building Owners and Managers Association’s Energy Efficiency Program) classes, a comprehensive training for overall energy and sustainability, which have attracted more than 9,500 attendees.
The 2011 Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding leadership year after year. These winners have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by setting and achieving aggressive goals, employing innovative approaches, and showing others what can be achieved through energy efficiency. These awards recognize ongoing leadership across the ENERGY STAR program including energy-efficient products, services, new homes and buildings in the commercial, industrial and public sectors. Award winners are selected from more than 17,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.
About CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2010 revenue). The Company has approximately 31,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our Web site at www.cbre.com.
About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR was introduced by the EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants associated with energy use. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 60 kinds of products as well as new homes and buildings. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved $18 billion on their utility bills and prevented greenhouse gas equivalent to those of 34 million cars. Products, homes and buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR prevent emissions by meeting strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA. For more information, go to energystar.gov.