WASHINGTON, May 26, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort directly tied to the company's commitment to fostering environmentally responsible business practices, CoStar Group announced today an official partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to advance and promote commercial and industrial buildings'  energy usage information. CoStar plans to display building energy efficiency and energy performance information in the CoStar Property® database.

State and local governments across the country are implementing policies requiring businesses to disclose building energy usage information. This information will soon be funneled to CoStar for display in its database. Washington, DC and Chicago will be the first two cities with commercial real estate energy usage data to appear in CoStar's system. This information is expected to be available later this year, with more cities' building energy usage information becoming available regularly.

For more than 30 years, CoStar has grown to provide the most comprehensive data and intelligence solutions available to professionals involved in every aspect of multifamily and commercial real estate.  CoStar previously partnered with the Environmental Protection Agency to display ENERGY STAR ratings and with the U.S. Green Building Council to display LEED-certified buildings in the CoStar database.

The company already identifies, highlights and promotes the benefits of more than 15,000 ENERGY STAR-labeled and LEED-certified properties currently in its database. In addition, CoStar incorporates an environmentally friendly approach to its research initiatives. The company has a fleet of more than one-hundred low-emission research vehicles and the company's headquarters in Washington, DC is LEED-certified platinum.

"CoStar is thrilled to partner with the Department of Energy in creating a cleaner future for our communities," said Andrew Florance, Founder and CEO of CoStar Group. "We believe providing energy data on commercial, multifamily and industrial properties will contribute to long-term advancements in energy efficiency across the nation.  This information also provides our customers – including brokers, owners, investors and lenders – with intelligence they can use to find their edge in the market and make informed decisions."

"Reducing wasted energy in our buildings is one of the quickest and most cost-effective ways to reduce energy bills for Americans, make local communities more affordable, cut harmful pollution, and create new jobs," said Dr. Kathleen Hogan, U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency. "DOE's partnership with CoStar Group will not only improve our understanding of the benefits of energy efficiency for building owners and occupants, but will also result in an historic expansion of the energy efficiency information available to commercial real estate consumers that will drive demand for energy efficiency improvements nationwide."

According to the DOE, buildings commonly account for as much as eighty percent of local carbon emissions generated within cities, and hundreds of millions of dollars in collective energy costs for residents and businesses. Increased transparency within this sector is expected to drive progress. An increasing number of city governments across the country are beginning to require this energy information to be reported by businesses. Participating cities currently include Atlanta, Boston, Boulder, Chicago, Kansas City, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle, and the District of Columbia. 

About CoStar Group

CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) is the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. Founded in 1987, CoStar conducts expansive, ongoing research to produce and maintain the largest and most comprehensive database of commercial real estate information. Our suite of online services enables clients to analyze, interpret and gain unmatched insight on commercial property values, market conditions and current availabilities. LoopNet is the most heavily trafficked commercial real estate marketplace online with more than 10 million registered members. Apartments.com, ApartmentFinder.com and ApartmentHomeLiving.com form the premier online apartment resource for renters seeking great apartment homes and provide property managers and owners a proven platform for marketing their properties. Through an exclusive partnership with Move, a subsidiary of News Corporation, Apartments.com is the exclusive provider of apartment community listings across Move's family of websites, which include realtor.com®, doorsteps.com and move.com.  CoStar Group's websites attracted an average of approximately 24 million unique monthly visitors in aggregate in the first quarter of 2016.  Headquartered in Washington, DC, CoStar maintains offices throughout the U.S. and in Europe and Canada with a staff of approximately 2,600 worldwide, including the industry's largest professional research organization. For more information, visit www.costargroup.com.

This news release includes "forward-looking statements" including, without limitation, statements regarding CoStar's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. These statements are based upon current beliefs and are subject to many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. The following factors, among others, could cause or contribute to such differences: the possibility that CoStar's business plans and/or data displayed in its database change; the risk that the release of commercial real estate energy usage data will not happen when and as expected; and the risk that increased transparency resulting from the release of the energy data does not produce the expected results or provide the expected contributions to advancements in energy efficiency. More information about potential factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those stated in CoStar's filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in CoStar's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, each of which is filed with the SEC, including in the "Risk Factors" section of those filings, as well as CoStar's other filings with the SEC available at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements are based on information available to CoStar on the date hereof, and CoStar assumes no obligation to update such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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SOURCE CoStar Group, Inc.