2013 Better Buildings Federal Award launched

The Dept. of Energy on July 20 began accepting nominations for its 2013 Better Buildings Federal Award (BBFA), which recognizes the federal government’s highest-performing energy efficient buildings. The year-long competition challenges agencies to achieve the greatest reduction in annual energy intensity-or energy consumed per square foot-and honors the federal building that achieves the greatest energy savings at the end of the designated 12-month period. The nomination process for 2013 will be open through Sept. 7, 2012, and the winner will be announced late next year. The winner of the 2012 competition is scheduled to be announced later this year.

The department will select finalists for the competition based on energy efficiency measures deployed in the facilities, best practices in energy management undertaken by facility personnel, and institutional change programs used to encourage sustainability efforts within facilities. The finalists will compete head-to-head to attain the greatest reduction in energy intensity over 2013. Finalists will represent a range of building types, sizes, and agency functions. The BBFA is part of the Obama Administration’s Better Buildings Initiative, challenging the private and public sectors to make quick investments to improve energy efficiency in America’s buildings by 20% over the next decade.