Across the Country local governments are taking measures to become more energy efficient. These actions are not limited to government buildings and public property, but also through community outreach and financial incentives.
ENERGY STAR® is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping local governments, businesses, and citizens save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. With the help of ENERGY STAR, people have saved enough energy in 2010 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 33 million cars — all while saving nearly $18 billion on utility bills. So what exactly are people doing to help eliminate greenhouse gases, while saving money? Purchasing ENERGY STAR appliances and fixtures is the most obvious reason, but some local governments, businesses, and citizens are taking it one step further.
ENERGY STAR challenge
Almost 4,000 organizations have committed to improving the energy efficiency of America’s commercial, industrial, and government buildings by 10 percent or more. All of these organizations have signed up for the ENERGY STAR challenge. The challenge encourages the following:
ENERGY STAR partnership
While the ENERGY STAR challenge is a gateway to improving energy efficiency, some local governments have take energy efficiency one step further. According to ENERGY STAR, “by joining as an ENERGY STAR Partner, you formally commit your organization to continually improving energy efficiency. Partners benefit from enhanced credibility and visibility through the ENERGY STAR program. As a partner, a senior executive from your organization agrees to”[1]:
- Measure and track your energy performance or encourage your members to do so
- Develop and implement a plan to improve your building’s energy performance or encourage your members to do so
- Educate your staff/members/community about energy efficiency
- Take the ENERGY STAR Challenge and help improve the energy efficiency of America’s commercial and industrial buildings by 10 percent or more
Once an ENERGY STAR partner, you are then able to display the ENERGY STAR partnership logo and are eligible to apply to be an ENERGY STAR partner of the year award, which is prestigious award only given out to a handful of candidates.
Over 600 local governments have taken the ENERGY STAR challenge and/or become ENERGY STAR partners. CLICK HERE to see if your local government has taken the ENERGY STAR challenge and/or is an ENERGY STAR partner. If your local government is missing from the list encourage your local officials or yourself to sign up for the challenge and/or formally commit to energy efficiency through the partnership.
Success Stories
Louisville, KY is a great example of what local governments are doing successfully with ENERGY STAR. According to a 2008 press release, “Mayor Jerry Abramson and the Kentucky Office of Energy Policy recognized five Louisville buildings that have attained the EPA’s ENERGY STAR label. The federal program recognizes buildings that rate among the top 25 percent of facilities of similar use across the country for energy performance.” [2] As of 2011, the City of Louisville, KY has 40 ENERGY STAR Certified buildings and several more in the process.
Additionally, Louisville, KY has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR partner of the year in 2010, “for the city’s outstanding efforts to become more energy efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”[3] The EPA highlighted Louisville’s 2009 Kilowatt Crackdown as the key accomplishment for receiving such honors. The program was a competition that challenged participants to utilize ENERGY STAR tools to track and reduce energy use in buildings large and small from all sectors of the community. Two hundred and forty various buildings were enrolled in the program.
Another success story lies with the 3rd largest City in America, Chicago, IL. Chicago joined ICLEI’s Green Office Challenge, an initiative to reduce energy consumption by businesses and greenhouse gas emissions from commercial buildings. The challenge was a key strategy of the Chicago’s Climate Action Plan, which details steps for organizations of all kinds and suggests actions for every individual on the topic of sustainability. Some of the noteworthy achievements in 2010 include:
- a reduction of more than 70 million kilowatt-hours of electricity – equivalent to the energy used by 45,000 homes or using 125,000 barrels of oil
- keeping more than 54,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – equal to removing more than 10,000 cars off Chicago streets
- a reduction of more than 5% in water usage
- diversion of more than 1,200 tons of materials from landfills
These are just two success stories out of thousands when it comes to energy efficiency and sustainability. If you want your local government to get involved and take that extra step and commitment, sign up for the ENERGY STAR challenge and/or partnership and make a plan to save the environment from greenhouse gases all while saving money!
[1] http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/challenge/learn_more/GrowwithES.pdf
[2] http://www.louisvilleky.gov/GoGreen/News/2008/04-17-08-energystar.htm
[3] http://www.louisvilleky.gov/GoGreen/News/2010/3-1-10+partner+of+the+year.htm