EPA Recognizes Cushman & Wakefield With 2016 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award

New York, NY, March 29, 2016 (Newswire.com) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Cushman & Wakefield with a 2016 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award for its continued leadership in protecting our environment through superior energy efficiency achievements. The commercial real estate services firm’s accomplishments will be recognized in Washington, D.C. on April 13, 2016.

In September 2015, the merger of Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ successfully closed; the combined firm now operates under the iconic Cushman & Wakefield brand with 43,000 employees in more than 60 countries managing over 4.3 billion square feet of commercial space, globally. An ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year since 2013, Cushman & Wakefield will be honored for its long-term commitment to energy efficiency.

“At a time of significant expansion, we have focused on examining existing energy management programs and streamlining our program to a singular, integrated approach,” said John Santora, global COO and chief integration officer. “Cushman & Wakefield continues to demonstrate leadership in energy efficiency engagement and education with a multi-faceted approach – from broker training and energy efficiency leasing guidelines to Portfolio Manager education sessions and tenant energy awareness campaigns.”

In October 2015, Cushman & Wakefield released its new environmental commitment internally. This included the initiative to benchmark all eligible US properties using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. As Cushman & Wakefield advances these efforts, it plans to establish a new energy target for its managed portfolio.

Cushman & Wakefield’s additional key highlights and accomplishments for 2015 included:

• Maintaining its National ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager account to ensure the firm’s growing portfolio is benchmarked.
• Earning the ENERGY STAR for nearly 200 buildings in 2015.
• Adding a Sustainable Site Selection questionnaire into all transaction management RFPs, which includes a question asking potential landlords about the ENERGY STAR certification of their properties.
• Including a building’s ENERGY STAR certification in major real estate deal press releases.
• Submitting more than 125 buildings in Cushman & Wakefield’s managed portfolio to compete in the EPA’s National Building Competition.
• Hosting more than 20 Portfolio Manager training sessions to educate associates, property teams and engineers.
• Conducting broker trainings in New York; Boston; Minneapolis/St. Paul; Raleigh, NC; the District of Columbia; Northern Virginia; Suburban Maryland; San Diego; and San Francisco for more than 100 brokers.
• Communicating energy goals and successes to a broader audience including building tenants, clients and the greater communities through campaigns such as Powerful Ideas® and Project Green, corporate blog posts, tenant events and an educational energy efficiency infographic, and social media.

“Cushman & Wakefield truly values our partnership with ENERGY STAR,” Santora said. “It’s exciting to see the impact we’ve made through an array of programs and initiatives, and we remain committed to continuing our work to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment.”

Since its inception in 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped prevent a total of more than 2.4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2014 alone, ENERGY STAR and its partners provided more than $11 billion in societal benefits due to reducing damages from climate change.

“By continued collaboration with ENERGY STAR, Cushman & Wakefield is helping Americans save money, save energy, and do their part to reduce our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate climate change,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “I’m proud to recognize Cushman & Wakefield with the highest form of ENERGY STAR recognition, as the winner of the 2016 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award. Cushman & Wakefield demonstrates a strong commitment to energy efficiency and to preserving a healthy planet for future generations.”

The 2016 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a variety of organizations to recognize their contributions to reducing harmful carbon pollution through superior energy efficiency efforts. 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.

For a complete list of 2016 winners and more information about ENERGY STAR’s awards program, visit www.energystar.gov/awardwinners.

About Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield is a leading global real estate services firm that helps clients transform the way people work, shop and live. The firm’s 43,000 employees in more than 60 countries provide deep local and global insights that create significant value for occupiers and investors around the world. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest commercial real estate services firms with revenues of $5 billion across core services of agency leasing, asset services, capital markets, facility services (branded C&W Services), global occupier services, investment & asset management (branded DTZ Investors), project & development services, tenant representation and valuation & advisory. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For more than 20 years, people across America have looked to EPA’s ENERGY STAR program for guidance on how to save energy, save money, and protect the environment. Behind each blue label is a product, building, or home that is independently certified to use less energy and cause fewer of the emissions that contribute to climate change. Today, ENERGY STAR is the most widely recognized symbol for energy efficiency in the world, helping families and businesses save $362 billion on utility bills, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2.4 billion metric tons since 1992. Join the millions who are already making a difference at energystar.gov.