Showing a commitment to reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, the commercial real estate sector is partnering with the Department of Energy in a program launched Thursday called the Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance.

Top executives from 19 commercial real estate companies including Hilton Hotels Corporation, The Walt Disney Company and MGM Mirage, met with officials of the DOE yesterday to form the alliance which will link the firms with applicable research and technologies that will improve the energy efficiency of their buildings, the department said in a statement.

The deployment of new energy efficient technologies and adoption by both public and private sectors are vital to achieving substantial change in building energy use throughout the U.S., said Scott Hine, acting program manager of DOE's Building Technologies Program in a statement.

Commercial buildings account for 18 percent of total U.S. energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, according to information from the Department of Energy.

The government program joins another initiative called the Retailer Energy Alliance – which includes by Wal-mart, Target and Macy's among others. Both alliances are part of the Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative (CBI) created by the DOE with a goal to transform market-ready, zero-energy commercial buildings by 2025.

The benefits for real estate developers are those of cultivating a green corporate image, attracting high quality tenants, and generating solid returns, while tenants, benefit with a highly productive and cost effective operational environment as well as an appealing way to support energy sustainability, the DOE said.

The CREEA membership is open to real estate owners, operators including offices, hospitality, non-hospital medical, shopping centers, investors, service providers and industry groups.

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