90 Energy Star Leaders Cut Energy Use by 20% or More

by | Feb 23, 2012

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Nearly half of organizations in the EPA’s Energy Star Leaders program have improved the energy efficiency of their building portfolios by 20 percent or more, the agency has announced.

The improvement means that these 90 organizations have already met the goal of the Better Buildings Challenge, President Obama’s call for companies to improve the energy performance of their buildings by 20 percent by 2020. The EPA did not say which companies had met the 20 percent threshold.

It did say that Energy Star Leaders have so far cumulatively saved more than $150 million on utility bills and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to the electricity use of nearly 95,000 homes. Over 200 organizations are now in the program, including national retailers, commercial real estate companies, healthcare systems, supermarket operators, hotel managers and school districts, and they have achieved energy efficiency improvements across more than 11,400 buildings covering nearly 730 million square feet, the EPA said.

To be in the program, Energy Star Leaders must meet one of two energy efficiency improvement milestones. The first milestone requires a 10 percent improvement in energy performance across the organization’s entire building portfolio, and subsequent recognition is given for each 10 percent improvement thereafter.

The second milestone, known as “top performer,” requires the buildings in an organization’s portfolio to perform on average in the top 25 percent of similar buildings nationwide.

To be eligible for Energy Star Leaders recognition, organizations are required to track and submit energy performance data for all buildings and fuel sources through EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool.

In the past year, EPA also recognized Decatur County Community Schools in Indiana as the first Energy Star Leader to improve energy efficiency across its building portfolio by 60 percent.

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