District commits to reduce energy use by 20 percent by 2020
Camas, WA, July 2, 2012 – Today, Camas School District announced its partnership in the Better Buildings Challenge, a Department of Energy (DOE) national leadership program calling on corporate chief executives, university presidents, state, local and school district leaders to reduce their portfolio-wide energy use by 20 percent by 2020 and showcase the solutions they use and the results they achieve. The District pledged to reduce energy use in 990,000 square feet of its public facilities by 20 percent.
“The Camas School District is pleased to join the Better Buildings Challenge, helping lead the nation to greater energy efficiency, economic growth and a cleaner environment,” said Bryan McGeachy, Director of Operations. “Our commitment will lead to anticipated savings of $160,000. We look forward to sharing our successful strategies with other school districts so they can also overcome barriers to greater efficiency and achieve similar savings.”
As a Better Buildings Challenge Partner, the District has pledged to make aggressive efforts to increase energy efficiency by implementing portfolio-wide energy management programs and developing a showcase project. The District will also share facility-level energy use as well as successful strategies and approaches with DOE, other Partners, and the public. The data and solution transparency they provide will serve as an example to other states/school districts and help transform the market toward increased energy efficiency.
“Through President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge, our partners are committing to real change, breaking through barriers, and sharing their successes,” said Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “We applaud these Partners for joining in this leadership initiative and we look forward to working with them as they make their communities more energy efficient, saving money for taxpayers while protecting our air and water.”
School districts can play a key role in facilitating energy efficiency across the nation through implementing innovative models, financing strategies and developing strategic public-private partnership to drive energy efficiency.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, commercial buildings and industrial plants in the U.S account for 50 percent of the nation’s primary energy use, cost about $400 billion to operate, and produce 40 percent of the country’s CO2 emissions. By taking steps to become more energy-efficient, DOE estimates that many buildings can reduce energy use by 20 percent.
About the Better Buildings Challenge
The Better Buildings Challenge is a national leadership initiative that calls on chief executive officers, university presidents, and state and local leaders to significantly reduce their portfolio wide energy use and share the results of their energy reduction strategies. Launched by President Obama in December of 2011, the goal of the Better Buildings Challenge is to make American commercial and industrial buildings at least 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020. More than 100 organizations, representing almost 2 billion square feet of commercial and industrial buildings and almost $2 billion in energy efficiency financing, currently partner with the U.S. Department of Energy in the Better Buildings Challenge.
For more information, please visit http://www4.eere.energy.gov/challenge.
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