The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) congratulates Hilton Worldwide for being an energy management pioneer for the hospitality industry—and the commercial sector. In December 2015, three of Hilton Worldwide’s hotels achieved certification under the DOE’s Superior Energy Performance®(SEP™) program, a program of excellence in energy management based on the International

Standards Organization (ISO) 50001 standard. The three landmark company hotels that attained SEP certification include:

  • Washington Hilton (site of the 2016 Better Buildings Summit): SEP Platinum Certified (15.9 percent verified reduction over 3 years)
  • Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort: SEP Silver Certified (8.4 percent verified reduction over 3 years)
  • Hilton Union Square San Francisco: SEP Silver Certified (6.3 percent verified reduction over 3 years)

For Hilton Worldwide, SEP certification follows the company’s system-wide ISO 50001 Energy Management certification across its entire hotel portfolio in 2014. Hilton has also partnered with DOE through the Better Buildings Challenge to achieve a 20 percent energy savings goal over the next ten years. Hilton Worldwide’s achievement heralds SEP’s move into the commercial sector, expanding on the program’s success in the manufacturing sector, and highlights SEP’s applicability to any facility that is tracking and managing energy use and seeking external recognition for best practices. 

“We are excited to recognize Hilton as the first company in the hospitality sector to achieve SEP certification for several of their hotels,” said Kathleen Hogan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency at DOE. “The SEP certification demonstrates Hilton's commitment to improving energy productivity and achieving meaningful savings.”

 “We are proud to be not only the first hospitality company but also the first company outside of the manufacturing sector to achieve certification through the DOE's SEP program,” said Maxime Verstraete, vice president of sustainability, Hilton Worldwide. “SEP provides us with performance metrics to drive continuous improvement in energy management that are aligned with our goals to reduce our carbon footprint and increase cost savings across our global portfolio of more than 4,500 properties. We look forward to continuing to work with the Department of Energy to expand our participation in the program.”

Superior Energy Performance® is a DOE-administered certification program that provides guidance, tools, and protocols for facilities that want to achieve deeper, more sustained savings from ISO 50001. SEP also complements and supports the industrial part of DOE's Better Buildings Initiative by verifying facility-level energy performance improvements and savings achieved by participants in the Better Buildings, Better Plants program. Members of the U.S. Council for Energy Efficient Manufacturing, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board developed SEP as a transparent system for certifying sustained improvements in energy performance and management practices.

To learn more about SEP certification in commercial buildings, contact the SEP Administrator at superiorenergyperformance@ee.doe.gov.