601 Massachusetts Avenue

How does 601 Massachusetts Avenue compare with other office buildings in Washington, DC?

The latest disclosures cover 899 office buildings in Washington, DC, out of 6,870 buildings citywide. 601 Massachusetts Avenue's ENERGY STAR score of 81 compares with an average of 70 across the 774 that report a score; it scores higher than 66% of them and lower than 30%. Its site EUI of 43.5 kBtu/ft² is about 22% below the average of 55.6 kBtu/ft² — it uses less energy per square foot than the typical building in that group. Its emissions intensity of 3.8 kgCO₂e/ft² is about 24% below the group average of 5.0 kgCO₂e/ft².

At 502,968 sq ft, it is about 133% above the average floor area of 216,135 sq ft for those buildings. It was built in 2015, 41 years later than the group's average year built (1974). Across all 24 jurisdictions BuildingCensus covers, the 15,264 office buildings average an ENERGY STAR score of 73 and a site EUI of 59.3 kBtu/ft².

How has 601 Massachusetts Avenue's energy performance changed over time?

BuildingCensus holds 8 Washington, DC disclosures for 601 Massachusetts Avenue, covering report years 2017–2024. Its ENERGY STAR score went from 89 in 2017 to 81 in 2024 (-8 points); its best year on file was 2017, at 89. Site EUI moved from 49.6 kBtu/ft² (2017) to 43.5 kBtu/ft² (2024), a 12% decrease. Reported emissions went from 2,764 tCO₂e to 1,922 tCO₂e over the same span (down 30%).

What does an ENERGY STAR score of 81 mean?

ENERGY STAR scores run from 1 to 100 and are computed by the EPA's Portfolio Manager as a percentile against similar buildings nationwide, adjusted for climate, size and use: a score of 81 means the building performs better than about 81% of its national peers. BuildingCensus bands the score into report-card grades; 81 falls in band B — above median (70–84). Scores of 75 or higher meet the threshold for ENERGY STAR certification; certification itself is a separate, verified application that the disclosure does not record. In Washington, DC, 47% of scored buildings are at 75 or above.

Site energy-use intensity (EUI) is the energy a building uses on site in a year divided by its floor area, in thousand Btu per square foot — lower is more efficient. 601 Massachusetts Avenue's 43.5 kBtu/ft² across 502,968 sq ft works out to about 21.9 billion Btu (6,412 MWh-equivalent) in 2024. Its source EUI of 121.8 kBtu/ft² also counts the energy lost generating and delivering that power, which is why it is higher. The disclosure also reports 6,413,024 kWh of electricity, 0 therms of natural gas and 5,350 thousand gallons of water for the year.

Which law requires 601 Massachusetts Avenue to report its energy use?

601 Massachusetts Avenue reports under the Clean and Affordable Energy Act / BEPS, the legal basis of Washington, DC's Building Energy Benchmarking program, which publishes each covered building's annual benchmarking results. The record shown here is the report-year 2024 disclosure (source record dc:PM5134091:2024). DC's Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS) require buildings below the performance standard to improve over compliance cycles (the first ends December 31, 2026; later cycles run five years), with penalties for buildings that fail to meet their pathway.