x>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency awarded
the first ENERGY STAR® to a building in 1999,
an innovation that has helped bring thousands of organizations in the commercial
building marketplace to the forefront of energy efficiency and climate stewardship.
The evolution of ENERGY STAR for buildings is a compelling story of eliminating
barriers, driving demand, and delivering excellence. Celebrate a decade of ENERGY
STAR buildings with this historical retrospective of how it all began, where we are
today, and a glimpse of the exciting future that lies ahead.
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
A Common Story, A Revolutionary Solution
The new director of business administration for a local
school district furrowed his brow as he took his first look at
his district's budget. Officials in the district predicted that
rising fuel costs would push annual energy expenditures
upward by more than 20%. There was no way, with
increasing costs for textbooks, supplies, and classroom
technology improvements, that his school district could
afford an energy bill of that size. Together with their energy
service provider, they found help from the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR program.
Through ENERGY STAR, the district official soon discovered
that his school buildings were significantly less energy
efficient than their peers in the United States and were
adding unnecessary costs to that huge energy bill. As district
officials evaluated performance building-by-building in the
portfolio, they found ways to take action and save energy at
the whole building level, address poorly operating systems,
and make necessary capital investments. After two years,
the district had spent $150,000 on capital upgrades but
its energy costs, rather than rising to the predicted $4.5
million, came in at $3 million. Within another two years,
the school district would become the first in the country to
be recognized by EPA for reducing overall energy use by 40
percent.
This is the true story of Council Rock School District in
Newtown, Pennsylvania. It's a common story of a common
problem. EPA's ENERGY STAR program offers a powerful
solution that has revolutionized energy efficiency in the
commercial marketplace.
ENERGY STAR partners in
the commercial building
marketplace have helped
prevent emissions equal
to the electricity used by
more than 60 million
American homes per year.
Dawn of the EPA Partnership Program
The 1990s marked an important shift in the United States
toward greater collaboration on pollution prevention. It was
a time when both business leaders and environmentalists
recognized that economic progress and environmental
protection can, and must, go hand-in-hand. It was an era of
market incentives and flexible, common-sense, cost-effective
strategies. EPA's decision to approach the momentous
problem of climate change through a voluntary, public/
private energy efficiency partnership program reflected a
new generation of environmental protection. This innovative
approach took shape in 1991 under the banner of EPA's
Green Lights program.
Through Green Lights, EPA promoted the use of efficient
lighting systems in commercial buildings in situations where
EPA introduces the Green
Lights Program, a partnership
program designed to promote
efficient lighting systems in
Green Lights merges with ENERGY
STAR Buildings, a program to help
businesses simultaneously improve
^ss Lights buildings.
1991 1992
^^^^^^^^H ENERGY STAR • aSfflffl
1993 1994
1995
EPA introduces the first
ENERGY STAR labeled
products, including
personal computers and
monitors.
EPA pilots the ENERGY
STAR Buildings program
with 23 building owners
to showcase the ENERGY
STAR approach.
I
EPA launches ENERGY STAR
| labeled new homes that are
1 30 percent more efficient
than the model energy code.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
they maintained or improved lighting quality and were also
profitable. It was a novel idea built around an important
reality: energy efficient lighting could significantly reduce
the pollution caused by buildings. But organizations were
not taking advantage of these investment opportunities
because they did not have objective information, assessment
tools, or an understanding of the benefits to their bottom
line. Green Lights offered tools and resources to overcome
these barriers to efficiency and profitability.
The foundation of the program was a partnership between
EPA and public or private organizations, which outlined a
method for participants to follow, required annual reporting
of energy savings, and offered a package of technical
and marketing tools at no cost. The emphasis on the
commitment to energy efficiency by organizations —not
just individual buildings—would become one of the key
attributes and successful elements of the future ENERGY
STAR program. Other important attributes that would
carry on from the Green Lights program include assessing
performance and setting goals, creating and implementing
action plans, evaluating progress, and recognizing
achievements.
Whole Building Evolution
With the momentum established by Green Lights, EPA moved
beyond lighting to capture substantial additional savings
by improving the energy efficiency of the whole building.
Through its work with Green Lights participants, EPA realized
that the real savings lay not just in technologies but in
the interaction of the various building systems. Modeling
software had shown that buildings could reduce their energy
use by 30 percent through efficiency improvements.
Two dozen showcase buildings were selected to test that
hypothesis over the course of a year. Measurements were
taken before and after the trial period, and participating
organizations used a uniform strategy provided by EPA as
the basis for improvements. The study results showed that
despite using the same whole building approach, some
buildings logged 50 percent savings, while others only
showed 12 percent. But what did that mean?
Debut of the Building Benchmark
To interpret the results, EPA needed an objective measure
by which all buildings could be evaluated. It was obvious
that saving energy was good, but there was no way to
objectively compare —or benchmark—the performance of
one building to another. EPA turned to an existing inventory
of commercial building energy use available from the
Department of Energy to develop comparative metrics for
evaluating performance.
Using these comparative metrics, program officials realized
that the "very successful" building that cut its energy use
in half still had above-average energy use. Even more
surprising, the "less successful" building with the modest
12 percent savings was actually performing well above the
average building. Moreover, the inventory revealed a wide
distribution of energy performance between the best and
ENERGY STAR label
extended to office
buildings that perform
in the top 25 percent
• of the market.
Portfolio Manager, an
online energy tracking
and management tool
for buildings, is released.
ENERGY STAR label extended
to schools that perform in the
top 25 percent of the market.
ENERGY STAR label extended
to supermarkets and grocery
stores that perform in the top
25 percent of the market.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
worst performers —making a comparative metric even more
important given such a large spectrum.
The results of the showcase building study represented a
major turning point that helped EPA transform the view
of energy use in commercial buildings. It was clear that
organizations needed to measure energy use in order to
manage it and to make sense of those measurements
within an objective context. The results strengthened EPA's
position that the business-as-usual approach of estimating
savings based on calculations —rather than actual energy
consumption —needed to change. With the global climate
at risk, damage to the environment caused by greenhouse
gas emissions was not going to be prevented by theoretical
predictions of how a building was intended to operate, but
rather by real-world reductions in energy use.
From Green Lights to ENERGY STAR
As the Green Lights program began to eliminate barriers and
deliver results, EPA launched a new generation of pollution
prevention initiatives that reflected the realities of the 1990s:
the importance of environmental issues to consumers, the
increasing cost of energy, and the intensely competitive
world marketplace. Among these initiatives was ENERGY
STAR, EPA's flagship voluntary labeling program designed
to identify and promote energy-efficient products in order to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
ENERGY STAR labeled products were top performers in terms
of energy efficiency, without sacrificing performance, quality,
or cost-effectiveness. After the ENERGY STAR program
introduced the first labeled product lines —including
personal computers, monitors, printers, and fax machines-
the Green Lights program evolved into EPA's new whole-
building program: ENERGY STAR for Buildings.
New Tools of the Trade
Consistent with the guiding principles of ENERGY STAR as
well as the findings of the showcase building study, the
need for a better way to accurately measure and compare
the energy performance of buildings resonated with EPA.
Approaches were introduced, tested, and modified with
valuable input from the growing network of influential
ENERGY STAR partners. By 1999, EPA emerged with an
entirely new method and three new tools to encourage
and assist organizations in their efforts to reduce carbon
emissions:
• The Portfolio Manager software tool, which would
become the engine of the ENERGY STAR Buildings
program, allowed organizations to measure, track, and
compare the energy use of all of their buildings online
with just a few clicks using their own private account.
• The ENERGY STAR energy performance scale assigned
a score between 1 and 100, which indicated how
a building performed relative to similar buildings
nationwide. The scores were automatically adjusted
using standardized methods to take into account
differences in building attributes, operating
characteristics, and weather variables.
ENERGY STAR label
extended to hotels that
perform in the top 25
percent of the market.
ENERGY STAR label
extended to acute care
hospitals that perform in
the top 25 percent of the
market.
Nearly 1,100 buildings
have earned the
ENERGY STAR label.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
• The ENERGY STAR label provided recognition from EPA
for those buildings that scored a 75 or higher, meaning
that they performed better than 75 percent of similar
buildings nationwide. Certifications of performance and
adherence to indoor air quality standards were also
required to earn the ENERGY STAR label.
These new tools marked a fundamental shift in how the
market came to define energy efficient buildings. Most
people were still relying on more complex approaches, one
of which was to feed energy bills into complicated building
simulation models that would calibrate the bills based on
other factors. They were expensive and difficult to use, most
people did not understand how they worked, and there was
no standardization across organizations. A less expensive
and equally well-intentioned method was to perform an
upgrade, install technology, and then consider the building
high-performing. Yet research showed that neither the age
of a building nor the presence of technologies alone were
good indicators of performance.
With the debut of its three new tools, EPA introduced
an entirely new way of testing efficiency and defining
performance. This new approach allowed organizations to
gauge the performance of all of their buildings easily and at
low cost, prioritize investment opportunities, learn from the
best, and verify the savings of their actions.
An ENERGY STAR is Born
With nearly 5 million commercial buildings in the United
States, introducing this new energy efficiency framework
required a sound strategy, a reasoned approach, and the
availability of information to provide relevant performance
benchmarks. A look at the carbon picture (Fig. 1) made
office buildings the obvious place to start; they emit the
greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions among the
various types of commercial buildings and therefore offer
the greatest opportunity for greenhouse gas reductions.
However, with diverse owner/operator/occupant
relationships, the office building market presented unique
challenges.
By segmenting the market and understanding the business
models of the organizations it was trying to reach, EPA
Office
Other Retail
Lodging
Health Care
Food Service
Fig.1.
Carbon
Emissions
by building type
Public Assembly
Public Safety
Shopping
Malls
Houses of
Worship
Service
Education
Other
Warehouse
& Storage
ENERGY STAR recognition
extended to commercial
new construction with the
"Designed to Earn the
ENERGY STAR" designation.
Almost 2,000
buildings across the
U.S. have earned the
ENERGY STAR.
Almost 1,400 buildings have
earned the ENERGY STAR
for superior energy
performance.
ENERGY STAR label extended
to dormitories, bank branches,
financial centers, and ware-
houses that perform in the top
25 percent of the market.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
ENERGY STAR Challenge is
announced: EPA challenges
US organizations to improve
the energy efficiency of
buildings at least 10 percent.
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
was able to create synergies. Transforming the market
demanded a focus on how energy was important to the
organization —not just a focus on the buildings themselves.
Investor-owners in the commercial real estate market began
to understand how they could not only recoup their energy
efficiency investments, but also reap financial rewards in the
form of higher net operating income and asset value, and
possibly attract and retain tenants with greater ease.
History was made in January of 1999 when EPA awarded
the first ENERGY STAR to a 17-year-old, 74,000-square-foot
municipal office building in San Diego, California. Over the
following decade, thousands of buildings followed suit,
and today more office buildings have earned the ENERGY
STAR than any other building type, resulting in substantial
greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Early analyses of ENERGY STAR office buildings proved their
financial and environmental value. Studies documented
significant direct financial savings from reduced energy
use and persistent savings from improvements in energy
performance. At a time of rising energy costs, the presence
of EPA's ENERGY STAR on a commercial building was
increasingly recognized as the hallmark of a fiscally and
environmentally sound corporate energy management
strategy.
EPA was making significant progress with a green building
approach that was smart from both a financial and pollution
prevention perspective. The passing of time would confirm
early studies and reveal that ENERGY STAR labeled buildings
consistently use, on average, 35 percent less energy than
their peers and emit 35 percent less carbon dioxide. The
results began to speak for themselves.
A Decade of Growth
Following EPA's early success in the office building market,
the Agency tackled more than a dozen new commercial
sectors. Over the years, the ENERGY STAR energy
performance scale was expanded to provide scores for K-12
schools, supermarkets, hospitals, hotels, retail stores, and
many other types of buildings (Fig. 2). EPA also established
energy performance indicators for various manufacturing
industries, and facilities such as automobile assembly plants
began to earn the ENERGY STAR label. Early champions, such
as Mines, Arden Realty, Food Lion, Giant Eagle, JCPenney,
Marriott, and the Cities of San Diego and Louisville were
instrumental in the program gaining wider acceptance.
The transparent, web-based method EPA built to deliver
the ENERGY STAR energy performance scale has enabled a
new industry of service and product providers to help deliver
the program and improve the performance of the market.
Utilities retrieve and transfer important commercial building
consumption information. State and local governments,
energy efficiency program sponsors, and industry groups use
it to evolve policies, voluntary programs, and frameworks
that might never before have been possible.
ENERGY STAR label ex-
tended to auto assembly
plants that perform in
the top 25 percent of the
market.
ENERGY STAR label
extended to petroleum
refineries that perform in
the top 25 percent of their
size class.
More than 3,200
buildings have
earned the
ENERGY STAR.
EPA's Portfolio Manager
tool is updated to include
greenhouse gas emissions
tracking.
More than 2,500
buildings have
earned the
ENERGY STAR.
ENERGY STAR label extended
to cement manufacturing
plants and corn refineries that
perform in the top 25 percent
of the market.
ENERGY STAR label
extended to retail
buildings that perform
in the top 25 percent
of the market.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
In 2008, nine years after introducing the ENERGY STAR
energy performance scale and the ENERGY STAR label for
commercial buildings, EPA witnessed a huge explosion in
participation across market sectors. Seventy-five percent of
consumers were aware of ENERGY STAR and the number
of buildings that earned the ENERGY STAR increased more
than 50 percent in just one year (Fig. 3).
The value of an ENERGY STAR score has grown with the
passage of time and the delivery of energy efficiency to
the commercial building sector. An ENERGY STAR score
is a quick, objective assessment, easily understood by the
marketplace as well as all corners of an organization. As
long as EPA delivers performance-based recognition, the
Fig. 2
Facilities Eligible to
Commercial Buildings
Bank branches
Courthouses
Dormitories
Financial centers
Hospitals
Hotels
Houses of worship
K-12 schools
Medical Offices
Offices
Retailers
Supermarkets
Warehouses
Earn the ENERGY STAR*
Industrial Plants
Auto assembly
Cement plants
Container glass manufacturing
Flat glass manufacturing
Frozen fried potato processing
Juice processing
Petroleum refineries
Pharmaceutical manufacturing
Wet corn mills
•As of Dec. 2009
integrity of the scores is critical. This integrity demands
rigorous statistical standards when developing energy
performance models —a benefit to both the organizations
who want an accurate reflection of their buildings' energy
performance and to EPA in accounting for carbon reductions.
ENERGY STAR energy performance scores are not currently
available for those building types for which insufficient
statistical data is available (stadiums, for example) due
to the rigorous data requirements of the ENERGY STAR
program. However, any building, regardless of size, age, or
type, can still gauge progress using EPA's Portfolio Manager
tool. In fact, more than 20 percent of the buildings whose
energy performance is being tracked in Portfolio Manager
are not able to obtain an energy performance score. In the
future, better information and data will help expand the
ENERGY STAR energy performance scale to more space
types without sacrificing the rigorous standards that are a
defining characteristic of the program.
Success by the Numbers
Over the past decade, the ENERGY STAR Buildings program
has experienced staggering growth by every measure. As the
end of 2009 approaches, the energy performance of more
than 120,000 buildings representing nearly 14 billion square
feet has been measured through ENERGY STAR. More
than 5,000 organizations have joined the ENERGY STAR
buildings program as partners. Nearly 9,000 buildings have
earned the ENERGY STAR across all 50 states. And perhaps
Nearly 4,100
buildings have
earned the
ENERGY STAR.
ENERGY STAR label ex-
tended to pharmaceutical
manufacturing plants
that perform in the top 25
percent of the market.
EPA releases
first-ever ranking
of US cities with
the most ENERGY
STAR buildings.
ENERGY STAR label
extended to houses of
worship that perform
in the top 25 percent
of the market.
More than 6,200 buildings have
earned the ENERGY STAR-more
than a 50 percent increase over
the prior year.
ENERGY STAR label extended to flat and Nearly 9,000
container glass manufacturing, frozen fried buildings have
potato processing, and juice processing earned the
plants that perform in the top 25 percent of ENERGY STAR.
the market.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
most importantly, over the past decade, ENERGY STAR
partners in the commercial marketplace have helped prevent
greenhouse gas emissions equal to the electricity use of 60
million American homes every year.
A Bright Future
Now, 10 years since the introduction of the ENERGY STAR
label for buildings and 18 years since the inception of Green
Lights, the ENERGY STAR approach to energy efficiency and
greenhouse gas emissions reductions remains unchanged.
It is still rooted in the power of collaborative partnerships,
the importance of high-level organizational commitment,
the value of a good plan, a consistent and objective way
to measure real-world consumption and savings on a
continuous basis, and recognition. These core values will
continue to be of great importance to the commercial
building marketplace as it encounters the challenges of an
economic recession, growing concern about climate change,
consumer skepticism of green claims by U.S. corporations,
and differing approaches to evaluating a building's energy
performance.
An exciting future lies ahead for the ENERGY STAR
program. Improvements to Portfolio Manager will enhance
its value both as an energy management tool and as an
important nexus of climate, energy, and green building
policies. The use of Portfolio Manager by a growing
number of organizations and localities —as well as the first
international partner—will enrich this extensive pool of real
world commercial building data.
Fig. 3. ENERGY STAR Labeled Buildings (cumulative)
9,000 -i
8,000 -
7,000 -
6,000 -
5,000 -
4,000 -
3,000 -
2,000 -
1,000 -
• I
H
111
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
ENERGY STAR will continue to expand to new markets
and address new building types, including data centers,
thereby creating greater opportunities for carbon savings.
Organizations will continue to use ENERGY STAR as a
platform for their energy efficiency efforts and will be better
positioned as a result to address future climate policies,
reporting requirements, and regulations.
Finally, a new emphasis on the role everyone plays in
improving the energy efficiency of the places where
we work, play, and learn will deliver valuable employee
engagement opportunities and greater consumer awareness,
thus driving increased demand for energy efficiency over
the long term. As the next decade dawns, more and more
buildings in communities across America will proudly bear
EPA's ENERGY STAR label, marking a greater future for us all.
Green Buildings and ENERGY STAR
When someone refers to a building as "green" it can mean
many things, including a reasonable assumption that a
building is energy efficient. The surprising truth is that many
buildings identified as green may be no more, and perhaps
even less, energy efficient than "average" buildings. The terms
"sustainable" and "high performance"—words often used to
denote environmentally friendly buildings —do not necessarily
offer a guarantee of energy efficiency.
To determine a building's energy efficiency relative to the
marketplace, explicit energy efficiency goals should be set
based on how real buildings perform. Then, once the building
is constructed and operational, its actual energy performance
should be measured and tracked against the same market-
based data. This is exactly what ENERGY STAR allows
designers, architects, and building owners to do —create an
energy target for specific types of buildings, grounded in real
energy data from a large sample of existing buildings.
As the discussion of green building continues, it's important
to keep in mind that among its many attributes, for a building
to be green, it must be energy efficient —and for the best
guarantee of energy efficiency in the commercial building
marketplace, look for the ENERGY STAR.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
CASE STUDIES
Every building has a story to tell. The wide variety of
ENERGY STAR labeled buildings shows that there are
many paths to take to energy efficiency, but they all
follow the same basic guidelines: Start with a organiza-
tional committment, assess performance and set goals,
develop and implement a plan to improve, evaluate
progress, and finally, earn recognition. The following
stories show how 14 organizations made those guide-
lines all their own.
Quality Inn
Federal Office Building—7,
Hotel Nikko
JCPenney
Ridgehaven
Green Building
Salt River
Materials
Group Phoenix
Cement Plant
EPA Region VIII
Headquarters
Kohl's
Department
Store
VA Ann Arbor
m K Street
BrutonHigh
School
Food Lion
Southface
Eco-Office
Ridgehaven Green Building, San Diego, CA
In 1999, the Ridgehaven Green Building in San Diego, CA, was the first building in
the nation to qualify for the ENERGY STAR label. Three years earlier, the structure
had been renovated by the City of San Diego's Environmental Services Department to
demonstrate that green buildings can be developed within municipal guidelines and
budgets, using off-the-shelf technology. The Ridgehaven Green Building's success
motivated the City of San Diego to adopt a formal policy establishing the City's com-
mitment to green building practices. More than thirteen years later, the building still
serves as a model for others, leaving portions of building systems exposed so visitors
can learn about energy efficiency. And it's still among the nation's most efficient
buildings, having earned additional ENERGY STAR labels in 2005, 2006, and 2009.
Hotel Nikko, San Francisco, CA
Hotel Nikko, a boutique San Francisco hotel, blends Asian grace with all the modern
conveniences guests expect from a luxury hotel. One thing guests might not expect,
however, is an approach to energy management that makes the Hotel Nikko among
the most energy efficient hotels in the nation. Through its innovative approaches, this
hotel shows that it's not necessary to sacrifice comfort or style to achieve big energy
savings. How do they do it? Eighty-two percent of the building's lighting is either high-
efficient fluorescent or LED, the hotel has equipped all guest rooms with sensors that
turn down thermostats when the rooms are vacant, variable frequency drives were
installed on ventilation fans, and in-room laundry cards encourage guests to re-use
linens, thereby cutting water and energy usage.
The Ridgehaven Green Building served as a
model for San Diego, earning the very first
ENERGY STAR in the process.
San Francisco's stylish Hotel Nikko makes it
clear that energy efficency doesn't have to
mean sacrificing comfort or luxury.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
-------
A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
Through better operations and maintenance,
Waterloo Elementary saved $283,000—funds
that can now be used for education.
Salt River Materials Group modernized its
1950s-era plant to achieve superior energy
performance.
Built in 1928, JCPenney's Huntington Park
store benefitted from a long-standing corpo-
rate committment to energy efficiency.
CASE STUDIES (cont.)
Waterloo Elementary School, Waterloo, IN
This single-story school building serves approximately 600 students in grades K-5.
Facing less funding from state and federal sources, and more competition for available
grants, the school decided to look to low-cost options to improve the energy efficiency
of its building. With help from consultant Energy Education, Inc., the school measures
and adjusts energy use throughout the year. This often means periodic walk-throughs
and assessments at off-hours, as well as educating staff, teachers, and students about
energy-saving behaviors they can adopt during school hours. Within five years, with no
large capital investments, Waterloo Elementary School was able to reduce its energy
use by 31% and save $283,000. The school plans to redirect these savings to better
meet the educational needs of its students.
Salt River Materials Group Phoenix Cement Plant, Clarkdale, AZ
Salt River Materials Group produces Phoenix Cement® at its plant in Clarksdale,
Arizona. The plant was built in the 1950s and, overtime, received various upgrades
to improve operating efficiency. The company also modified operating procedures to
reduce energy consumption. In 1999, the company initiated a major plant moderniza-
tion, installing new equipment such as energy efficient roller mills for coal, raw meal,
and finish grinding, and an efficient clinker cooler that captures and uses waste heat.
When the plant improvements were later evaluated, significant improvements in
energy efficiency had been achieved and the plant earned the ENERGY STAR in 2007
and 2008.
JCPenney, Huntington Park, CA
JCPenney's Huntington Park, California, store opened its doors in 1928 and is one
of the company's longest continually operating stores in the country. It is also one
of sixty-three JCPenney stores that participate in the company's Advanced Energy
Management Program which involves both facility maintenance personnel and store
associates in energy awareness efforts. Store managers monitor energy use on a
next-day basis to catch any irregularities and problems as they occur. After a review of
lighting and equipment schedules, as well as proper maintenance of heating and cool-
ing equipment, the store was able to reduce the time needed for opening and closing
of the sales floor by almost 65 hours per week. JCPenney, an ENERGY STAR Sustained
Excellence Award winner, continues to expand its energy efficiency efforts to its entire
chain of more than 1,100 retail stores through ongoing education, awareness, and
energy reduction programs.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
10
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
CASE STUDIES (cont.)
1900 K Street, Washington, DC
Designed by the firm of Cesar Pelli & Associates and constructed in 1996,1900 K Street
is a distinctive 13-story office building in downtown DC. In 1999, the building received
an ENERGY STAR score of 32 (on a 1-100 scale). By trying to better understand the
design of the building, the building's facility team, led by Mines, was able to close the
gap between design intent and actual operations. They calibrated controls, installed
motion sensors and a variable frequency drive, reprogrammed the building's energy
management system, improved maintenance and routing assessments, upgraded one
chiller, and fine-tuned settings. As a result, within three years the building received
an ENERGY STAR score of 75, making it eligible for the ENERGY STAR. The building
now saves $1.09 per square foot in energy costs, and reports an annual C02 emission
reduction of 46 million pounds, and has earned the ENERGY STAR label six times.
Federal Office Building, Seattle, WA
The Federal Office Building was the first building in Seattle specifically allocated
to house federal government offices. Built in 1933, this historic structure has been
showing the buildings around town what it means to be energy efficient. In addition
to earning two ENERGY STAR labels, the Federal Office Building won first place for
highest energy performance in the 2008 BOMA Seattle King County Kilowatt Crack-
down. To achieve this level of performance, the General Services Administration (GSA)
conducted an energy audit, replaced an old cooling tower, upgraded the old elevator
bank and lighting systems, and replaced the control panels for the building automa-
tion system. The building's utility provider, Seattle City Light, has provided more than
$100,000 in incentive funding for these projects.
Facility managers raised the energy
performance score of 1900 K Street from
a 32 to a 75 in just three years.
Seattle's Federal Office Building partnered with
a local utility to help finance energy efficiency
upgrades.
Bruton High School, Williamsburg, VA
Built in 1976, Bruton High School in York County, Virginia, received a complete renova-
tion in 2003. The renovation included lighting and equipment upgrades, new windows,
a cool roof, a building automation system, and a new geothermal heating and cooling
system to replace the old all-electric system. The geothermal system consists of 85
new heat pumps, six energy-recovery units, and 320 underground loops that each
plunge to a depth of 200 feet. As a result of this top-to-bottom renovation, Bruton High
School became the first high school in Virginia to earn EPA's ENERGY STAR. Officials
often lead architects, engineers, and officials from other school districts on building
tours, and report that the annual operating cost for the renovated school building is
$0.67 per square foot —significantly less than average.
Bruton High School's geothermal system is
helping to keep energy costs low.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
11
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
After a rigorous energy efficiency program.
Kohl's is now meeting much of its remaining
energy needs with solar power.
CASE STUDIES (cont.)
Kohl's Department Store, Sussex, Wl
Organizations often wonder about the road ahead once they have achieved substantial
savings through energy efficiency. In the case of Kohl's Department Stores, which
already owns more than 350 ENERGY STAR labeled stores and maintains a rigorous
approach to energy efficiency and sustainability, it began looking to alternative energy
sources. Kohl's Sussex store had already earned the ENERGY STAR label before solar
panels were added, which ensured that the store's energy use was already relatively
low. By adding on-site solar energy generation, the company minimized the remain-
ing greenhouse gas emissions and raised its energy performance score from an 84 to
a 90. Currently, 61 of Kohl's ENERGY STAR labeled stores are equipped with on-site
solar generation, which provide 20 to 50 percent of the stores' already-reduced energy
demands, depending on geographic location.
EPA is leading by example through a focus on
energy efficiency through all operations of its
Region 8 Headquarters.
EPA Region VIM Headquarters, Denver, CO
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 8 office building represents
the best in design, work environment, environmental performance, and security
while providing a good value for the taxpayers. During the design phase, the design
team achieved "Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR" based on intended energy use.
After two years in full operation, the building proves that it is indeed performing as
intended, earning an ENERGY STAR and proving that good design and operations must
go hand-in-hand. Simultaneously, EPA staff members who work in the building are
maintaining its energy- and cost-saving potential through good behaviors. EPA takes
its role as an environmental leader one step further by hosting educational tours of
the building, participating in green events and conferences, and maintaining project
details and a robust case study online.
The Food Lion in Stanley, NC, represents a new
energy-efficient prototype fora company that
already has 900 ENERGY STAR labeled stores.
Food Lion, Stanley, NC
The ENERGY STAR labeled Food Lion supermarket in Stanley, North Carolina, repre-
sents a new energy-efficient prototype for the company. It is also one of more than
900 Food Lion stores that have earned the ENERGY STAR. Opened in May 2007, the
store received an initial energy performance score of 78. Not satisfied, Food Lion's
energy team analyzed the store's energy use in EPA's Portfolio Manager and prioritized
improvements. Within two years, the store's energy performance score had increased
to an 83, and is helping Food Lion fine-tune the operations of future prototype stores.
A leader in corporate-wide energy management, in 2008, Food Lion saved more than
45 billion BTUs across all of its buildings.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
CASE STUDIES (cont.)
Southface Eco Office, Atlanta, GA
The Southface Eco Office was conceived of as a replicable, cost-effective model of
sustainable commercial construction. In 2006, while still in its design phase, project
architects achieved the "Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR" designation based on
intended energy use. These models took into account proposed design features such
as daylighting, solar angles and shading, electrochromic glass, insulated concrete form
wall systems, photo sensors, dimming ballasts, occupancy sensors, and green roof-
ing. After construction was completed in 2008, building engineers began analyzing
actual energy use and fine-tuning systems and equipment in order to ensure that the
building was operating as intended. Their commissioning paid off, and after 12 months
of operation, the Southface Eco Office earned the ENERGY STAR for superior energy
performance. The building's average daily energy cost is $25.
Quality Inn & Suites, Sequim, WA
Constructed in 2005, the Quality Inn & Suites is a 60-room hotel that had been de-
signed and built with energy efficiency in mind. But as a mid-scale hotel brand, it did
not have access to the in-house engineers or outside consultants that many high-end
hotels rely on. Instead, the owner and staff turned to ENERGY STAR to learn about
energy efficiency. It also partnered with its local electricity provider, Clallam County
Public Utility District, to take advantage of several energy saving programs. Their first
joint project was a building lighting retrofit of which the District agreed to reimburse
the hotel for 70 percent of the cost. As a result of this and other measures, the hotel
managed to raise its ENERGY STAR score from an 87 to a 96. The Quality Inn & Suites'
resourcefulness and persistence serve as an example for other mid-priced hotels to
follow.
Originally designed to earn the ENERGY STAR,
the Southface Eco Office fulfilled its design
intent when it earned the ENERGY STAR label.
The Quality Inn & Suites proved that
superior energy performance isn't out
of reach for mid-range hotels.
Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Ml
The VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System is a 1.2 million-square-foot campus that provides
high-quality care to veterans. In addition to performing standardized operations and
maintenance, the energy team has conducted a series of energy efficiency upgrades
as well as led the training and education of staff in order to improve the energy perfor-
mance of the facility. As part of the Department of Veterans Affairs' national initiative,
the energy use of the VA Ann Arbor is benchmarked in EPA's Portfolio Manager tool
and reports to the Department on a quarterly basis. It has earned more ENERGY STAR
labels than any other VA hospital.
The VA Ann Arbor is participating in the
Department of Veterans Affairs' national
energy benchmarking initiative.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
13
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
EARLY CHAMPIONS
Some organizations saw the value of earning the
ENERGY STAR right away. They wasted no time in bench-
marking their energy use, receiving an energy perfor-
mance score, and then applying for the ENERGY STAR
label. The next two pages showcase some of the first
buildings in each category to earn the ENERGY STAR.
They are leading the way for others in their industry, and
deserve recognition for their pioneering spirit.
First ENERGY STAR labeled building:
City of San Diego's Ridgehaven Green Building, San Diego, CA
First ENERGY STAR labeled financial center:
114 West 47th Street, New York, NY
First ENERGY STAR labeled hospital:
Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, Carbondale, IL*
First ENERGY STAR labeled retail store:
JCPenney, Burlington, WA*
First ENERGY STAR labeled dormitory:
Congreve Hall, University of New Hampshire, Durham,
First ENERGY STAR labeled hotel:
Sheraton Boston, Boston, MA*
First ENERGY STAR labeled house of worship:
Plantation Baptist Church, Plantation, FL
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
14
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
EARLY CHAMPIONS (cont.)
First ENERGY STAR labeled embassy:
Embassy of Finland, Washington, DC
First ENERGY STAR labeled building that had also achieved
"Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR"for its design plans:
Kinard Junior High School, Fort Collins, CO
First ENERGY STAR labeled warehouse:
Four Seasons Produce, Ephrata, PA
First ENERGY STAR labeled wireless store:
Verizon Wireless, Toldeo, OH*
First ENERGY STAR labeled drugstore:
Rite Aid, Harrisburg, PA
First ENERGY STAR labeled hardware store:
True Value Hardware, Red Lodge, MT
First ENERGY STAR labeled sporting goods store:
Dick's Sporting Goods, Mentor, OH
First ENERGY STAR labeled office supply store:
Staples, Crossville, TN
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
15
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
OLD and NEW, BIG and SMALL: EPA HAS GOT THEM ALL
ENERGY STAR buildings can be old or new, big or small, high-tech or more modest in
appearance. It doesn't matter what they look like, as long as they perform in the top
25 percent of comparable buildings nationwide. The following buildings show the
rich variety of our country's most energy-efficient buildings.
Oldest ENERGY STAR building: Cambridge Savings Bank,
Cambridge, MA. This building was constructed in 1820, the
same year in which Maine became the 23rd state in the Union.
Newest ENERGY STAR building (that had been Designed to
Earn the ENERGY STAR): Southface Eco-Office, Atlanta, GA.
Designed in 2006; constructed in 2008; labeled in 2009.
Tallest ENERGY STAR building:
Aon Center, Chicago, IL At 1,136 feet high, the Aon Center is
higher than three stacked football fields and is the fifth-tallest
building in the United States.
Largest ENERGY STAR building: USAA McDermott Building,
San Antonio, TX. At 4.5 million-square-feet, USAA's
headquarters building is larger than the Mall of America.
Smallest ENERGY STAR building: Cambridge Savings Bank's
Burlington Banking Center, Burlington, MA. At2,313-square-
feet, it is about the size of the average American home.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
FAMILIAR FACADES
Many people will recognize these buildings, but they might not realize that they are among the nation's most energy efficient.
Wrigley Building, Chicago, IL
Prudential Tower, Boston, MA
Chrysler Building, New York, NY
One Wall Street, New York, NY
Transamerica Pyramid,
San Francisco, CA
7 World Trade Center, New York, NY
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
17
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
WHO'S INSIDE ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS?
Efficient boilers and motion sensors aren't the only interest-
ing things about these ENERGY STAR labeled buildings, all of
whom have notable tenants helping to ensure that minimal
energy is wasted throughout the course of business.
The music industry is greener thanks to MTV, whose
headquarters at 2700 Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica
has earned the ENERGY STAR label for four years running.
Fans of the television show Boston Legal may recognize
this ENERGY STAR labeled building at 500 Boylston Street as
the law office of the fictitious Crane, Poole & Schmidt.
A former Art Deco Marine Hospital on the National Register
of Historic Places, Amazon.com's Seattle headquarters won
an award from the American Institute of Architects in 2000.
The television show America's Most Wanted operates out
of 10351 Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, which
has earned ten ENERGY STAR labels.
Explorers come home to the National Geographic Society's
energy-efficient headquarters in Washington, DC.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
18
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A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR BUILDINGS
ENERGY STAR
1999-2009
A DECADE OF ENERGY STAR LABELS
Energy efficiency is not a one-time achievement, and
nothing demonstrates that better than these five buildings
that have each earned ten ENERGY STAR labels over the
decade. Not only were these buildings early champions
of the ENERGY STAR commercial buildings program, but
year after year they've proven that they continue to sustain
superior performance.
Phoenix Tower, Houston, TX
Earned the ENERGY STAR in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
US Airways Corporate Headquarters, Tempe, AZ
Earned the ENERGY STAR in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009.
6100 Wilshire, Los Angeles, CA
Earned the ENERGY STAR in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009.
10351 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
Earned the ENERGY STAR in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
10780 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
Earned the ENERGY STAR in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
A Decade of ENERGY STAR Buildings: 1999-2009
19
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THANK YOU
Before ENERGY STAR was a household name and before being
"green" was a matter of survival in a competitive marketplace,
pioneering organizations saw the value in energy efficiency and
collaborative partnerships. A decade later, EPA is profoundly
thankful fortheir confidence and forthe substantial savings they
have helped deliver for the environment. Today, thousands of
organizations are following their lead —creating a better future for
generations of Americans. Thank You.
ENERGY STAR is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program helping
businesses and individuals fight global warming through superior energy efficiency.
LEARN MORE AT
energystar.gov
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