March 24, 2006—The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) conferred partner-of-the-year awards on 67 organizations on March 21 for their accomplishments and leadership in the Energy Star program. Such diverse businesses as a snack food company, a car manufacturer, a building supplier, and a hotel chain were recognized for achieving major energy savings or helping others save money.
Energy Star partners of the year, including Fortune 500 companies and small businesses, set and reached annual goals to shrink energy use. For example, a retailer reduced energy use by 25 percent in more than 1,200 of its stores, and a property management firm improved energy efficiency over 22 million square feet, saving more than $2 million annually.
A partial list of the Energy Star award winners includes:
- Sustained Excellence :
- 3M (St. Paul, MN)
- CenterPoint Energy (Houston, TX)
- GE Consumer & Industrial (Louisville, KY)
- Giant Eagle, Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Gorell Enterprises, Inc. (Indiana, PA)
- Nevada Energy Star Partners (Las Vegas, NV)
- New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Albany, NY)
- Northeast Energy Star Lighting and Appliance Initiative (Lexington, MA)
- Osram Sylvania (Danvers, MA)
- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (San Francisco, CA)
- Servidyne Systems, LLC (Atlanta, GA)
- Southern California Edison (Rosemead, CA)
- Southern California Gas Company (Los Angeles, CA)
- Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America, Inc. (Erlanger, KY)
- Transwestern Commercial Services (Houston, TX)
- USAA Real Estate Company (San Antonio, TX)
- Whirlpool Corporation (Benton Harbor, MI)
- Wisconsin Focus on Energy (Madison, WI)
Partner of the Year—Energy Management
- Avista Advantage (Spokane, WA)
- California Portland Cement Company (Glendora, CA)
- Ford Motor Company (Dearborn, MI)
- Frito-Lay (Plano, TX)
- Gresham-Barlow School District 10 (Gresham, OR)
- Marriott International, Inc. (Washington, DC)
- Merck & Co., Inc. (Whitehouse Station, NJ)
- New York-Presbyterian Hospital (New York, NY)
- next edge (Los Angeles, CA)
- Save More Resources, Inc. (Grand Junction, CO)
Partner of the Year—Retailer
- The Home Depot (Atlanta, GA)
Partner of the Year—Product Manufacturer
- Good Earth Lighting (Wheeling, IL)
- Lithonia Lighting (Conyers, GA)
- Precision Entry, Inc. (Sugarcreek, OH)
- Victory Refrigeration (Cherry Hill, NJ)
Partner of the Year—Energy Efficiency Program Delivery
- Austin Energy (Austin, TX)
- New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (Newark, NJ)
- Puget Sound Energy (Bellevue, WA)
Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.
Now in partnership with DOE, EPA works with more than 8,000 organizations to improve the energy efficiency of products, homes, and businesses. To date, over 500,000 new homes have earned the Energy Star distinction and more than 26,000 office buildings, schools, supermarkets and hotels have benchmarked their energy use. For more information visit Energy Star.
