Northwest Energy Efficiency Council earns award for protecting the environment through energy efficiency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) as a 2012 ENERGY STAR Award for Excellence in ENERGY STAR Promotion winner for its outstanding contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by sponsoring significant consumer education efforts promoting energy-efficient products. NEEC’s accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 15, 2012, which marks the 20th anniversary of ENERGY STAR.
NEEC, an ENERGY STAR partner since 2002, is being honored for their work providing energy efficiency training to commercial building technicians through its national Building Operator Certification (BOC®) program. Since 2005, the BOC program has integrated the ENERGY STAR portfolio manager benchmarking tool into its training curriculum to advance use of the tool among its 8,000 credentialed operators. In 2011, BOC-certified operators using Portfolio Manager in conjunction with operational best practices saved an estimated $45 million in energy costs for their companies.
The national BOC® program is administered through a network of licensed providers who train building technicians in BOC best practices in 30 states with diverse climate zones in the East, Midwest, Southeast, and Pacific Coast. These providers contributed to the achievements recognized with this award. They include Gwinnett Technical College, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, New York State Energy Research & Development Authority, City University of New York, North Carolina Community College System, Northwest Energy Education Institute, Northwest Energy Efficiency Council, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, University of Hawaii, and Wisconsin Focus on Energy.
“NEEC’s partnership with ENERGY STAR and its BOC partners and sponsors is an important way for us to serve our customers, showing them how they can use energy-efficient ENERGY STAR products to save money and protect the environment,” said Stan Price, NEEC’s Executive Director. “We are committed to continuing this important partnership.”