September 12, 2005—The Gresham-Barlow School District in Oregon has been awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR Leader award.
The district received this prestigious award for improving the average energy efficiency of all its buildings by 30 percent over their baseline and raising the average efficiency of all their buildings to the top twenty-five percentile on EPA’s Energy Performance Rating System. As a result of the district’s efforts, 12 of its 20 buildings earned the prestigious ENERGY STAR distinction. These awards are similar to the widely-recognized ENERGY STAR label on household appliances and like the appliance label, denote superior energy efficiency.
The Gresham-Barlow District’s buildings use about 40 percent less energy than the national average for K-12 school buildings. That means it will cost the district about 40 percent less to heat, cool, and light the buildings than average schools in the area. In turn, their buildings, directly or indirectly, prevent 40 percent of the greenhouse gases and other environmental impacts associated with the energy generation.
These achievements have stemmed from the Gresham-Barlow District’s vision and district-wide commitment to Resource Conservation Management (RCM), a management practice that incorporates improving energy and resource efficiency into the district’s day-to-day operations.
Buildings nationwide can earn the ENERGY STAR by rating 75 or higher on EPA’s 100-point Energy Performance Rating System. In addition, it’s important to note that these buildings must also meet ENERGY STAR standards for building comfort and indoor air quality, as verified by an independent professional engineer.
The ENERGY STAR program has tools and resources that help consumers, businesses, schools and many other organizations improve energy efficiency. Additional information about ENERGY STAR Program is available online.
Additional information about Gresham-Barlow School District is available at the school systems Web site.
