‘Green’, ‘energy-smart’, ‘efficient’, 'environmentally-friendly’ are all labels we  progressively see more of as the state of our climate continues on a detrimental path. Culturally, we have familiarized ourselves with the classifications that ascertain something’s impact on the environment, but do we fully understand the criteria they symbolize?

The ‘Energy Star’ sticker has throughout the years embellished the exterior of products ranging from small home-electronics to multi-campus commercial buildings. Visually, most of us are familiar with the badge and assume its indication of environmental responsibility, but would probably hesitate if asked to explain the exact significance of the emblem.

Originally, the Energy Star Program was implemented to play a role in a series of voluntary programs that would help demonstrate the potential for profit in reducing energy consumption and green-house gases. The Energy Star logo then began showing up on efficient printers and computer products, then spread on to adorn other types of office equipment, heating and cooling systems, major appliances, lighting, new homes, commercial businesses, and even industrial plants. The modern goals of the Energy Star Program are not much different than the program's intent when it first began. The Energy Star Program strives to facilitate greenhouse gas emission reductions among businesses and institutions, increase energy efficiency, and continue success through valuable partnerships.

While it has become fairly widespread to see the emblem on various products, seeing it on buildings and homes is much less common. The rarity has to do with the rigorous certification process these structures are put through to ensure their minimal environmental impact. In order to become certified, your building or product must receive a score of 75 or higher on the Energy Star Spectrum. The scoring process is based off an algorithm that, for a building, factors in the structure’s size, location, number of occupants, number of PC’s, etc. The algorithm then calculates how much energy the building would use if it were operating at its most efficient, fairly efficient, and least efficient level. This data is then transposed as a scale ranging from 1-100. It is then the building owner/manager’s responsibility to submit the building’s real-time data for a specified number of categories. The algorithm is then utilized again with the accurate data input and a figure is produced. Wherever the figure falls on the spectrum for that particular building determines the building’s Energy Star Certification score.

The Whiterock Building, located in Downtown Boulder’s 15th Street Design District, has been pushed through the difficult application process to become an Energy Star Certified commercial building. With an Energy Star score of 84, The Whiterock Building is the only Energy Star Certified building in Boulder, Colorado. The score takes into account everything from the number of computers inside the building to the amount of natural gas used annually.

So, next time you see the Energy Star on a product in your home or in the window of a building, you can fully understand and trust the process behind ensuring that it is part of an energy-elite group that prioritizes minimizing their environmental impact. We can only hope that others will follow suit as environmental responsibility becomes more standardized and we will continue to see that little blue logo on an even larger variety of products and spaces in the future.