Dive Brief:

• The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed legislation that will create a voluntary energy-efficiency program modeled after Energy Star for commercial and government buildings.

• President Barack Obama is expected to sign the so-called Tenant Star law, which authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set up a branding, recognition and certification program for property owners and tenants who design, build and operate energy-efficient leased spaces in office buildings.

• The bill’s sponsors, Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, have said they will push for broader energy-efficiency legislation to force the federal government to reduce its power use through the use of technology.

Dive Insight:

If the program is widely adopted, it could save businesses billions of dollars on energy costs, according to Anthony E. Malkin, chair of the Real Estate Roundtable’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee. Instead of putting all of the burden—or giving all of the credit—to building owners for energy efficiency efforts, the measure encourages tenants, who, in some buildings, consume more than half of the power used by the building, to take measures to save energy.