JCPenney Earns Energy Star Award for Sustained Energy Management

March 9, 2009

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JCPenney is the first retailer to earn the ENERGY STAR Award for Sustained Excellence in Energy Management by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE). The retailer says effective energy management is part of the company’s environmental goals under its JCPenney C.A.R.E.S. corporate social responsibility (CSR) program.

The retailer has invested more than $100 million in the past six years to install energy-management technology, lighting retrofits and high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in its stores. More than 800 stores are now equipped with an Energy Management System (EMS), which provides remote monitoring of the store’s electrical and mechanical systems, schedules the operation of lighting and HVAC equipment and monitors store comfort levels and identifies opportunities for saving energy.

In 2008, JCPenney reduced energy use and comparable CO2 emissions across its building portfolio by more than 80 million pounds. The retailer continues to implement energy conservation projects and has several renewable energy projects underway. Currently, nine stores have rooftop solar power installations, and a pilot wind power project is being installed at one distribution center.

JCPenney has been a member of the ENERGY STAR program since 1999 and was recognized as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year in 2007 and 2008. In addition, when the new ENERGY STAR efficiency benchmark for retail stores was introduced in October 2007, four JCPenney stores in Washington state became the first buildings to earn the Energy Star label for energy efficiency.

Currently, 52 JCPenney stores, as well as the home office in Plano, Texas, have qualified for the ENERGY STAR Building Label. The retailer has set a goal to achieve ENERGY STAR certification for at least 200 stores across the country.

JCPenney also became the first national retailer to receive Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR (DEES) certification for two of its stores in 2008. In addition, construction is under way in Fairview, Texas, on JCPenney’s first store expected to obtain LEED certification. It is also one of 21 companies selected to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative to achieve cost-effective energy savings through innovation.

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