CoStar and DoE Collaborate to Conserve Energy in the US

CoStar Group Inc. CSGP, a leading provider of IT Services, recently announced that it has collaborated with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help conserve energy usage in commercial and industrial buildings. This initiative on part of the company will help firms to foster environment-friendly business practices. CoStar intends to display building energy information in its Property database.

Energy conservation has become a prime focus for state and local governments across the world. The government agencies are currently implementing policies per which companies are liable to disclose their energy usage information. Once this information is received by the government agencies, it will be uploaded in CoStar's database. The first two cities that will have this data service are Washington, DC and Chicago.

For over 30 years CoStar has provided its technical expertise to professionals involved in every aspect of multifamily and commercial real estate. The company had earlier collaborated with the Environmental Protection Agency to exhibit ENERGY STAR ratings, and worked with the U.S. Green Building Council to display Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified buildings in its database. Currently the company has over 15,000 ENERGY STAR-labeled and LEED-certified properties in its database. 

The updated information is expected to make brokers, owners, investors and lenders aware of energy usage in various properties across the country. This database will help customers reduce energy wastage and in turn lower their electricity bill.

Awareness about energy efficiency has become important as buildings generally account for 80% of carbon emissions within cities. Residents and businesses also incur hundreds of millions of dollars in total energy costs.  Increased transparency will help reduce pollution and improve the country's environmental health. City governments in Atlanta, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Kansas City, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle, and the District of Columbia are currently actively working on gathering such information to improve energy usage.

Headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar has its offices across the U.S., Europe and Canada. The company has approximately 2,600 employees worldwide. CoStar is the industry's largest professional research organization.

CoStar carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Some other stocks worth a glance include EarthLink Holdings Corp. ELNK, RELX NV RENX and Science Applications International Corporation SAIC. All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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