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PR MAJOR LANDMARK BUILDINGS JOIN CLINTON ADMINISTRATION PLAN TO SAVE ENERGY AND FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING

Release Date: 04/20/98
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Three of the world's greatest landmark buildings -- the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building in New York and the Sears Tower in Chicago -- will take action to reduce energy consumption and cut the pollution that contributes to global warming, EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner and Department of Energy Secretary Federico Pena announced today. This effort is part of a new Clinton Administration initiative called the Energy Star Buildings Program which creates voluntary partnerships with owners of commercial buildings nationwide to achieve energy savings. It is a key component of President Clinton's plan to combat global warming.
Commercial buildings in the United States account for 19 percent of greenhouse gases through their use of energy. If all commercial office buildings in this country follow the lead of these three buildings and other partners in this program, energy consumption will be cut 30 percent and $25 billion per year could be saved. The savings from the Energy Star Buildings Program will help reduce the burning of fossil fuels and the related carbon dioxide pollution that contributes to global warming.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy are jointly developing and managing the Energy Star Buildings Program. Under the new program, commercial building owners and managers throughout America now are volunteering to reduce needlessly wasted energy consumption through the use of more efficient products which range from new lighting to improved heating and cooling systems. For example, the World Trade Center already has converted 23,000 light fixtures for an annual savings of $1 million.

Administrator Browner said, "Every year, U.S. businesses pour $25 billion dollars of profits down the drain in the form of wasted energy from inefficient buildings. Energy efficient buildings not only can save millions of dollars in savings for businesses, they also can help protect the health and environment of all Americans by reducing the pollution that contributes to global warming."

Secretary Pena said, "We're helping building owners get recognition for their accomplishments in energy efficiency. At the same time, they are saving money on their bills and improving the environment. The Department of Energy is proud to partner with EPA and building owners to share our expertise in energy smart technologies. The joint EPA-DOE Energy Star Label will become a mark of quality, efficiency and comfort to increase asset value."

According to EPA's analysis, if every office building in the country used more energy efficient electrical products, Americans would save $130 billion by 2010 and cut 130 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the environment.

The Energy Star Buildings Program will serve as a mark of excellence for buildings with outstanding energy performance -- delivering high quality building space with low energy and environmental costs. The program is a voluntary, performance-based, benchmarking and recognition initiative for commercial buildings.

Building owners who want to receive the label seek a charter application and begin tracking their utility consumption and related criteria to benchmark their buildings' energy performance against that of other buildings of similar type. DOE and EPA use an agreed-upon process to decide if the building earns an Energy Star Building Label by demonstrating energy excellence, typically in the upper 25 percent of energy efficiency. Commercial buildings that earn the Energy Star Building label exemplify energy efficiency, increased asset value, and pollution prevention. Once earned, the building owner can use the designation with a label on the building and promote the building as an Energy Star Building. That gives them marketing clout in leasing and sales value.

The Kyoto conference last December, combined with unusual weather patterns from El Nino during the past several months, have focused worldwide attention on problem of climate change. In the U.S., the months of last January and February were the warmest and wetest on record. Chile's worst flooding in a decade has been attributed to El Nino.

The Kyoto conference also underscored strong consensus among scientists that the gradual heating of the earth from pollution can lead to increased rates of infectious disease, decreased crop production, rising sea level, and more severe incidence of storms and droughts. President Clinton's climate change plan includes win-win initiates, like the Energy Star Buildings Program, to effectively address climate change while promoting economic growth and competitiveness.

The President's climate change plan also includes a $6.3 billion package of tax cuts and investment in research and development to spur clean energy technology and partnerships with industry to encourage cost-effective emissions reductions. The Energy Star Buildings Program proves that the challenges of global warming can be met through the market place, through new technology and innovation, and through good business sense.

Other landmark commercial buildings around the country that have signed on to launch the new program today include the 4 Times Square building, the Conde Nast building, the Foley Square Federal Office building; the Time Life building, the McGraw-Hill building, the American Express Tower, 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 1251 Avenue of the Americas, and the New York Information Technology Center -- all in New York; the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco; MagneTek headquarters in Nashville; the St. Paul Facility-Trane Co. building in St. Paul; Westwood Gateway I and Westwood Gateway II in Los Angeles; Jamboree Centers in Irvine, California; the Lafayette Corporate Center in Boston; the LBJ Financial Centers, Rolex building, the Centex building, the Jones Day Reavis & Pogue International Center, the International Center Phase IV -- all in Dallas; the Rolex building and the Phase II building in Beverly Hills; the Chase Bank building in Richardson, Texas; Harrington Place in Palano, Texas; and the Wannamaker building and 1528 Walnut St. in Philadelphia. EPA expects that thousands more buildings will be joining the program over the next several years.


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