2023 Multifamily Energy & Water Survey
Join us in helping the industry refresh the energy and water scores for multifamily buildings.
About the Survey
Fannie Mae has partnered with industry leaders on a national survey effort to collect and analyze multifamily property energy and water consumption and costs in the United States. Participating industry partners include Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC), Enterprise Community Partners, Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), National Apartment Association (NAA), National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA), National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), NeighborWorks America, Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future (SAHF), and Urban Land Institute (ULI). Bright Power, a firm with expertise in multifamily energy and water efficiency, will be assisting Fannie Mae in the collection of the data. The anonymized survey data will be used to update the ENERGY STAR® 1-100 energy performance score and the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Score for multifamily housing. These publicly available metrics allow building owners and managers to track and compare their energy and water use.
Unlike commercial buildings, multifamily properties do not have a federally supported national survey of utility consumption, cost, and building characteristics. To fill this data gap, Fannie Mae assembled a team and launched a survey for multifamily properties in 2012. This effort resulted in the development of the 1 – 100 ENERGY STAR Score for Multifamily Housing released in 2014 and the EPA’s Water Score for Multifamily Housing released in 2017. After a decade, it is time to update the data underlying the scores to better represent the current energy and water use landscape.
The 2023 Survey will open March 1, 2023 and run through June 30, 2023.
Taking the Survey
While participation is voluntary, many multifamily property owners and managers rely on these scores to understand the relative performance of their properties. We encourage multifamily owners and property managers to participate in the survey to ensure the data is representative of types of buildings, tenant populations, and locations across our industry.
To participate in the survey, multifamily properties must have whole property (owner and tenant) utility cost and consumption information and provide basic information about property characteristics and operations. Read the Data Point Overview and collect all required material before beginning the survey. Data can be submitted either through ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® or by uploading an Excel template. This survey does allow multiple individuals to access and enter information so a property owner can collaborate with property management and other team members.
Start the 2023 Multifamily Energy and Water Survey
Resources
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Step-by-Step Guide to Submitting Utility Data
A how-to guide to collecting data from utility companies
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Survey Data Point Overview
A list of required data points to gather prior to beginning the survey
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2014 Fannie Mae’s Green Initiative and Energy Star® for Multifamily
A white paper on insights from the 2012 survey data results
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2012 Survey Data Set
The anonymized data set shared from the 2012 survey
Data Privacy
All survey responses will be held in strict confidentiality. Identifying information will be removed from the data and no property, financial, owner, or resident information will be included in the published survey data or the data provided to EPA. No building-identifying information will be made available for any commercial or business intelligence purposes; an anonymized building data set will be shared with U.S. EPA solely for purposes related to the Multifamily Energy and Water Survey. This anonymized data set will later be shared on Fannie Mae’s website for public use in conjunction with the updated ENERGY STAR Score for Multifamily Housing launch, anticipated in Q4 2024.
Contact information will only be used if the survey administrator, Bright Power, needs to contact survey respondents with follow-up questions to ensure a complete response.
Partner Organizations
We are thankful for the collaborative partnership from the following organizations as well as the numerous individuals and organizations from the multifamily industry who provided feedback on the survey prior to launch.
Need Help?
For general questions on the survey, please reach out to the Multifamily Green Financing mailbox.
For individualized assistance completing the survey, please reach out to the Bright Power Help Desk.