Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) has been named a 2017 Partner of the Year for its outstanding efforts to improve the energy efficiency of its buildings and facilities. ENERGY STAR is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect the climate through superior energy efficiency.

The award recognizes VBCPS for its commitment to reducing energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Since joining the program in 2011, the division has increased its average building score from 38 to 74 (on a 100-point scale) and has increased the number of awarded buildings from six to 44, making it the largest owner of ENERGY STAR-rated buildings in Hampton Roads. As a result, energy use has been reduced 27 percent while building space has increased by 9 percent.

“Virginia Beach is a national leader in both practicing and teaching sustainable practices,” said VBCPS Superintendent Aaron Spence. “Our community and our School Board believe this work is important and are supportive of our efforts, for which we are incredibly grateful. This recognition of the strength of our partnership with the ENERGY STAR program really is reflective of not only how we design, build and operate our facilities, but also of the culture we have in Virginia Beach around embedding sustainable practices into our everyday work and learning.”

ENERGY STAR has 16,000 partners nationwide, including manufacturers, retailers, hospitals, homebuilders and school divisions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have saved American families and businesses $430 billion on their energy bills and 4.6 trillion kilowatt-hours of energy. The program has achieved broad emissions reductions, including 2.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

VBCPS’s accomplishments will be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. April 26.

For a complete list of 2017 ENERGY STAR partner winners and more information about the awards program, visit www.energystar.gov/awardwinners.

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Department of Media and Communications, [email protected]

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