The Willow School is proud to announce we are a 2011 Energy Star Award recipient. Awards are based on organizations reporting utility usage and total infrastructure square footage. A system called Portfolio Manager, run by the US EPA, determines how many kilowatt-hours each building/campus uses per square foot, and assigns a number value from 1 to 100 to reflect that group’s efficiency efforts. For the year 2011, Willow earned 86 out of 100 for the entire campus. While this is admirable, we continue to look for ways to reduce our impact even further.
ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.
Results are already adding up. Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, 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 their utility bills.
Additional Background:
In 1992 the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced ENERGY STAR as a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Computers and monitors were the first labeled products. Through 1995, EPA expanded the label to additional office equipment products and residential heating and cooling equipment. In 1996, EPA partnered with the US Department of Energy for particular product categories. The ENERGY STAR label is now on major appliances, office equipment, lighting, home electronics, and more. The EPA has also extended the label to cover new homes, and commercial and industrial buildings.
Through its partnerships with more than 20,000 private and public sector organizations, ENERGY STAR delivers the technical information and tools that organizations and consumers need to choose energy-efficient solutions and best management practices. ENERGY STAR has successfully delivered energy and cost savings across the country, saving businesses, organizations, and consumers about $18 billion in 2010 alone. Over the past decade, ENERGY STAR has been a driving force behind the more widespread use of such technological innovations as efficient fluorescent lighting, power management systems for office equipment, and low standby energy use.
Energy prices have become a major concern for consumers. ENERGY STAR provides solutions. ENERGY STAR provides a trustworthy label on over 60 product categories (and thousands of models) for the home and office. These products deliver the same or better performance as comparable models while using less energy and saving money. ENERGY STAR also provides easy-to-use home and building assessment tools so that homeowners and building managers can start down the path to greater efficiency and cost savings.