New York City Ranked Sixth in List of Cities Earning Energy Stars in 2011

For the fourth consecutive year, Los Angeles has topped the list of cities with the most commercial buildings earning the Environmental Protection Association’s Energy Star award. With 659 buildings receiving the designation, LA boasted 130.8 million square feet of total Energy Star-rated space in 2011: according to EPA, that translated into annual savings of $149.8 million and 9400 pounds of total CO2 emissions.

Back here on the East Coast, after improving on its 2008 and 2009 ranks (12th and 10th) in 2010 (5th), New York City held steady by placing 6th on EPA’s list in 2011. But in terms of total floor area and annual cost savings the much denser Big Apple performed quite well, ranking third and second overall in those two categories.

The Energy Star program, of course, is a voluntary, free web-based tool that allows owners to compare their building’s energy performance against a national benchmark. Fifteen types of commercial buildings can earn the designation, including office buildings, K-12 schools, and retail stores. In order to earn the Energy Star, a building must receive a score of 75 (out of 100, indicating that it performs better than 75 percent of peer buildings).

Full details on the top 25 cities are available from EPA here in a press release that was made available earlier this month. We’ve reprinted the top six cities below for your reference: