May 16, 2003—The Department of Veterans Affairs was honored recently by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) for its achievements in energy efficiency.
“Thanks to the leadership and initiative of our employees, VA serves as a model for all federal agencies in energy efficiency,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. “The medical centers honored today will save VA millions over the years.”
The Energy Star award is given to buildings with energy performance in the top 25 percent of their peers, using an Internet based tool called Portfolio Manager. This tool enables the performance of individual buildings to be objectively assessed and tracked continually. This information provides building managers and owners with an invaluable resource to effectively manage energy use within their building.
The medical centers recognized are in the top 25 percent in energy performance among all hospitals in the United States. This evaluation involved over 150 VA medical centers with approximately 150 million square feet of hospital space.
Medical facilities are one of the most energy intensive building types, using energy at twice the rate of office space and three times the rate of schools.
In the federal sector, there are more than 200 hospitals in the United States, which represent approximately 13 percent of the energy used in all federal buildings.
For more information, as well as a complete list of the awardees, contact the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Public Affairs at 202/273-6000.
