New EPA Agreement with Canada Will Help Monitor Energy Efficiency and Emissions Across Borders
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager® is a free online tool currently used by more than 275,000 buildings, or one-quarter of U.S. commercial floorspace, to track energy, water, and waste emissions for multifamily, commercial, and institutional buildings.
It’s also used by Canada — where more than 26,000 Canadian buildings (or around one-third of its commercial space) have used the Portfolio Manager to measure and track energy usage — and a new agreement should help the two countries further collaborate on increasing energy efficiency in buildings and reducing climate pollution.
The EPA and Canada’s equivalent, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), recently recommitted to a 10-year research partnership to enhance features within the tool.
“Today’s agreement with Natural Resources Canada will continue a 10-year research partnership between our agencies, empowering American and Canadian building owners to reduce energy use, save on costs, and cut climate pollution,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan in the agency’s press release.
Portfolio Manager includes dozens of energy performance metrics, features to track energy performance relative to similar buildings, and additional content specific to Canadian commercial building stock. The reinvigorated partnership will not only enhance the Portfolio Manager to include a greenhouse gas emission comparison feature, but it will also help building owners and companies that build in both the United States and Canada measure and track energy performance consistently.
An EPA study of 35,000 buildings shows that buildings that benchmark their energy use on a regular basis reduce their energy consumption by 2.4% per year. Tools such as the Portfolio Manager have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emission and help building owners cut costs.
To stay current on the high-performance residential building sector, with tips on water efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and other building science strategies, follow NAHB’s Sustainability and Green Building efforts on Twitter.
Latest from NAHBNow
Economics
Dec 15, 2025
Builder Sentiment Inches Higher but Ends the Year in Negative TerritoryBuilder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes rose one point to 39 in December, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) released today. Sentiment levels were below the breakeven point of 50 every month in 2025 and ranged in the high 30s in the final quarter of the year.
Advocacy
Dec 12, 2025
Judge Determines FEMA’s Termination of BRIC Program UnlawfulA federal judge ruled that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s termination of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program was unlawful and issued a permanent injunction restoring the program. This action is of note to the housing community because NAHB has been pushing Congress to pass the Promoting Resilient Buildings Act, which would allow jurisdictions to qualify for BRIC funds if they have adopted one of the latest two code cycles.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Dec 15, 2025
Builder Sentiment Inches Higher but Ends the Year in Negative TerritoryBuilder confidence inched higher to end the year but still remains well into negative territory as builders continue to grapple with rising construction costs, tariff and economic uncertainty, and many potential buyers remaining on the sidelines due to affordability concerns.
Economics
Dec 11, 2025
Homeownership Rate Inches Up to 65.3%The latest homeownership rate rose to 65.3% in the third quarter of 2025, according to the Census’s Housing Vacancy Survey (HVS).
Economics
Dec 10, 2025
No Risk-Free Path: Fed Eases Monetary PolicyThe central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut rates a third and final time in 2025, reducing the target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a 3.5% to 3.75% range. This reduction will help reduce financing costs of builder and developer loans.