5900-441 Award Application Data Innovation

2023 ENERGY STAR® Awards

OMB Control No. 2060-0347
OMB Expiration Date: 01-31-2024

PART 1: Excellence Award Application
Data Innovation
Eligibility:
This award is open to ENERGY STAR energy efficiency program sponsors, service and product providers,
state and local governments, and/or other partner organizations that have demonstrated innovation in
increasing access to and/or the quality of data required by EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool,
and/or expanding the use of the data and building performance metrics available from it. Multiple partner
organizations may apply for this award together, as appropriate, when efforts were collaborative in nature.
Please remember to review the General Instructions before completing this part of your application.

Description:
The goal of this award is to recognize partners who have demonstrated innovation in:
•

Increasing the flow and/or quality of data for benchmarking in Portfolio Manager; and/or

•

Using the data and metrics from Portfolio Manager to drive improvements in commercial, industrial, or
multifamily building energy performance and other environmental objectives.

This award is intended to recognize initiatives that demonstrate breakthrough or precedent-setting
innovations. As appropriate, applicants should be able to substantiate how their work:
•

Represents a breakthrough or precedent-setting innovation,

•

Reaches new or underserved markets; or increases scale in established customer segments,

•

Increases the availability of building energy performance data to the public,

•

Incorporates ENERGY STAR tools, resources and branding, and

•

Deploys new technologies or implementation approaches.

Given the emphasis on innovation, this award will not recognize a partner for the same activity more than once,
nor will it recognize established, on-going activities, programs, products or services.1

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These types of notable efforts to support benchmarking and the use of energy performance data meet key requirements for ENERGY
STAR awards in other categories and should be included in those applications.
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EPA Form No. 5900-441

2023 ENERGY STAR® Awards

OMB Control No. 2060-0347
OMB Expiration Date: 01-31-2024

PART 1: Excellence Award Application
Data Innovation
Criteria:
EPA anticipates that a diverse range of activities, programs, products and services will compete for this award.
The most competitive applications will be those that clearly address ENERGY STAR program objectives, while
reducing or removing key market barriers through unique innovation.
Awards for data innovation will be made primarily using the following two criteria:
Increasing the flow and quality of data for benchmarking in Portfolio Manager
This criterion pertains to innovative efforts to make it easier to obtain high quality data required to benchmark
in Portfolio Manager.
The following are examples of the types of activities, programs, products and services that could compete in
this category:
•

A utility simplifying or automating the process of mapping meters to buildings to provide customers with
whole-building, aggregate consumption data.

•

A utility implementing business processes incorporating innovative quality checks to ensure the
accuracy of aggregated data provided to customers for benchmarking multi-tenant buildings

•

A property management company implementing a simplified process for energy information to flow from
tenant to owner to Portfolio Manager.

•

An energy information services company creating software that is then adopted by multiple utilities to
send customer energy data into Portfolio Manager.

Expanding use of energy performance metrics from Portfolio Manager
This criterion pertains to innovative efforts to expand use of the data and/or building performance metrics
available from Portfolio Manager to achieve greater energy efficiency and other environmental objectives in the
commercial, industrial and multifamily buildings markets.
The following are examples of the types of activities, programs, products, and services that could compete in
this category:
•

Local or state governments working to creatively visualize building performance metrics and increase
the accessibility of the information resulting from local voluntary initiatives and/or reporting required by
benchmarking and transparency laws.

•

Utilities using ENERGY STAR energy performance metrics as an integral part of the design, delivery,
and marketing of their commercial efficiency programs.

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EPA Form No. 5900-441

2023 ENERGY STAR® Awards

OMB Control No. 2060-0347
OMB Expiration Date: 01-31-2024

PART 1: Excellence Award Application
Data Innovation
•

A service provider creating a new and unique approach for using ENERGY STAR metrics to enhance
design, analysis, auditing, procurement, or financing of energy efficiency, demand reduction, and/or
green energy supply programs.

•

A services business using energy performance data to evaluate insurance risk premiums, set mortgage
rates, or inform rental applications.

Supporting Materials:
Each applicant must submit at least one item in PART 2: Supporting Materials. (required). Applicants are
encouraged to submit supplemental materials that demonstrate the development, use, or promotion of their
innovation. These materials may include, but are not limited to:
•

Screen shots to convey software functionality (particular emphasis should be placed on capturing the
customer’s point of view);

•

Fact sheets;

•

Online guidance materials;

•

Participant or customer-facing marketing/promotional materials;

•

Conference presentations highlighting the innovation; and/or

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Case studies/examples of the activities, programs, products or services.

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EPA Form No. 5900-441

2023 ENERGY STAR® Awards

OMB Control No. 2060-0347
OMB Expiration Date: 01-31-2024

PART 1: Excellence Award Application
Data Innovation
PART 1: Award Accomplishments Document
(use the following information to create a Word or PDF file)

Accomplishments Narrative:
Your application narrative must be no more than three pages and use a minimum of 12-point black font.
Margins should be no less than 1” on all sides. Pages that exceed the limit will not be evaluated. See
“Supporting Materials” section above for examples of supporting content that will not count towards the page
limit. Please note that any supporting materials should be clearly referenced in the award narrative.
The accomplishments narrative should include the following:
•

Description of Data Innovation. Applicants should provide an overview of their activities, programs,
products or services, with particular emphasis on (1) how this solution facilitates benchmarking in Portfolio
Manager by commercial building owners/operators; and/or (2) how this solution leverages data and/or
performance metrics from Portfolio Manager to drive measurable energy saving or other environmental
protection activities. Applicants are expected to describe in specific terms the innovations for which they are
seeking recognition and how they address the specific award criteria established above.

•

Market Effects/Cumulative Accomplishments. EPA recognizes that in some cases, innovative efforts
will involve new or precedent-setting activities that may have only achieved limited market effects at the
time of application. Nonetheless, applicants should make every attempt to provide both qualitative and
numerical data to support the case that the market has changed or will likely change in a significant and
sustained way as a result of your innovative work with data. When such data are not available because
the innovation is new, applicants should describe the likely potential impacts of the innovation in detail.

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EPA Form No. 5900-441

2023 ENERGY STAR® Awards

OMB Control No. 2060-0347
OMB Expiration Date: 01-31-2024

PART 1: Excellence Award Application
Data Innovation
Prepare/Gather Remaining Documents for Upload
PART 2: Supporting Materials
(at least one required, as described in the Application Instructions above)

PART 3: Organization’s High-Resolution Logo
(required)

ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and
unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions.

The public reporting and recordkeeping burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 14 hours per response.
Send comments on the Agency’s need for this information, the accuracy of the provided burden estimates, and any suggested
methods for minimizing respondent burden, including through the use of automated collection techniques, to the Director, Collection
Strategies Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2822T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., 20460.
Include the OMB control number in any correspondence. Do not send the completed form to this address.

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EPA Form No. 5900-441