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EPA Celebrates New England ENERGY STAR Leaders and Labeled Buildings

Release Date: 02/22/2012
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – Feb. 22, 2012) – EPA is pleased to recognize the nine companies in New England that have been named as ENERGY STAR Leaders over the past seven years, as well as the 207 buildings in New England that have received the prestigious ENERGY STAR label in 2011.

ENERGY STAR Leaders must meet one of two energy efficiency improvement milestones. The first milestone requires a 10 percent improvement in energy performance across their entire building portfolio, and subsequent recognition is given for each 10 percent improvement thereafter. The second milestone, known as “top performer,” requires that the buildings in an organization’s portfolio, on average, perform in the top 25 percent when compared to 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.

New England is home to businesses and schools that reached one or both of these ambitious milestones: These include: Cambridge Savings Bank (Mass.), Hannaford Brothers (Maine), Middleborough Public Schools (Mass.), Rochester School District (N.H.), Saunders Hotel Group (Mass.), Smithfield Public Schools (R.I.), Staples (Mass.), Stop and Shop Supermarket Co. (Mass.), and Weston Public Schools (Conn.).

“These New England companies and schools are achieving substantial energy efficiency improvements by using Energy Star tools,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “They are saving money, and helping to improve air quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

ENERGY STAR Leaders have cumulatively saved more than $150 million on utility bills and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to the electricity used by nearly 95,000 homes. The complete list of ENERGY STAR Leaders has grown to more than 200 organizations and includes school districts, national retailers, commercial real estate companies, healthcare systems, supermarket operators and hotel managers that have achieved energy efficiency improvements across more than 11,400 buildings covering nearly 730 million square feet in the United States.

In addition to the ENERGY STAR Leaders, 207 buildings in New England earned an ENERGY STAR label in 2011. The ENERGY STAR mark of excellence certifies that the buildings scored in the top 25 percent when benchmarked against similar buildings in the U.S. Buildings in 14 different categories including schools, hospitals, retail, and houses of worship are eligible to receive ENERGY STAR labels. Two New England institutions received the largest number of labels in 2011 include the Providence, Rhode Island, School Department with 11 labels and Staples, Inc. with 29 labels.

Since 2007, Providence, RI school energy managers have tracked energy use in their 36 schools and used that data to determine where they could reduce their energy consumption. Eleven schools earned labels so far this year, and 12 more schools have submitted applications for labels that are currently being reviewed. Providence schools have also used energy utility company audits and rebates to retrofit lighting, renovate building envelopes, and upgrade HVAC systems. These efforts have saved the City of Providence 20% of their energy bill, or almost eight million dollars since 2008.

Framingham, Mass.-based Staples has been an ENERGY STAR® partner since 1999, and has a goal to reduce the electrical intensity of their global operations by 25 percent by 2020 from a 2010 baseline. Staples’ energy conservation measures have already reduced electricity intensity (kWh per ft2) by 12 percent across its U.S. operations, saving the company nearly $9.9 million per year. Since 2008, Staples has retrofitted lighting in more than 750 stores.

Other New England buildings receiving ENERGY STAR labels in 2011 include a hospital, four houses of worship, two senior living facilities, multiple retail, hotel and financial offices, and more schools: 16 in N.H., 11 in Mass. and one in Barrington, R.I.

ENERGY STAR was started by EPA in 1992 as a market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products as well as new homes and commercial and industrial buildings that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved $18 billion on their energy bills while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 33 million vehicles.

More information: ENERGY STAR (www.energystar.gov)

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