The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says it is pursuing a suite of initiatives to strengthen federal energy management through increased focus on measuring energy use in federal buildings and energy efficient building design. Principal among the efforts is a final rule that requires verified energy and water performance for new and retrofitted federal buildings that are certified by private sector green building certification systems.

The rule goes into effect November 13 and is intended to ensure that in cases where agencies choose to use green building certification systems to meet federal sustainability and energy standards, they must choose a system that verifies enhanced energy and water efficiency. The department says that by requiring re-assessments at least every four years, the rule will “ensure energy and water savings continue well beyond the initial building opening or retrofit.”

DOE says it will provide a webinar discussing the rule’s requirements in November.

To further the DOE’s sustainability and energy savings efforts, the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) recently updated its Federal Building Energy Use Benchmarking Guidance, which designates the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager as the sole benchmarking tool for federal agencies. DOE also says it will soon release guidance for federal building metering that will help agencies prioritize buildings as they undertake efforts to measure energy and water consumption. DOE says these efforts will bring increased focus to verification of energy performance and management in federal buildings.

Finally, the Energy Department issued on October 10 a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking seeking additional public comment on its proposed rule to phase in designs of new federal buildings and major renovations that significantly reduce consumption of non-renewable energy commodities. The 60-day comment period closes Dec. 15, 2014.