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‘GREEN’ STARS

ENERGY STAR RATINGS ARE ENCOURAGING RETAILERS TO CUT ENERGY CONSUMPTION

By Kerri Linden

The Energy Star rating, long recognizable as the label attached to refrigerators and dishwashers, now has a new role in the retail industry. The Environmental Protection Agency announced in October that its Energy Star rating system now applies to retail buildings. Not only do compliant retailers get to see how their buildings rate and to save significantly on energy bills, they also get to show their customers how environmentally responsible they are.

“A lot of people already have instituted energy efficiency measures in their homes, but if we really want to make a difference, the best place to do it is where we work, shop, play and learn,” said Maura Beard, communications director for the EPA’s buildings program.
Currently, retailers are the country’s largest energy users, racking up a total of nearly $20 billion in energy bills per year, Beard says. Together, the commercial and industrial sectors consume about $200 billion worth of energy per year. Retailers also emit the second-largest percentage of greenhouse gases, after industrial buildings, she says.

The EPA can help retailers turn these statistics around through Portfolio Manager, a program downloadable for free off the EPA Web site. Portfolio Manager provides data formulations designed specifically for retail buildings and calibrated for such energy factors as size, location and weather patterns. After a retailer provides information from 12 months worth of energy bills, square footage figures and similar data, the program generates a score between 1 and 100. A score of 75 or higher earns the retailer an Energy Star.

Dedicated service providers will help if a retailer lacks the time to devote to gathering the data. The EPA requires only that the store measure at least 5,000 square feet and that a certified engineer verify the data, which Beard says will run the retailer about $1,200.

To reach the 75-point mark, a retailer can examine its heating, cooling and lighting systems. The use of motion-sensor lighting and staying on top of heater and air-conditioner maintenance can help reduce energy bills drastically, says Beard. And many retailers start air conditioners and heaters hours before customers arrive and turn them off hours after they leave, she says, which adds up to large amounts of unnecessary energy usage.

One retailer has already taken advantage of the program. JCPenney received the Energy Star for four of its retail buildings in Washington state — in the towns of Bellevue, Burlington, Puyallup and Vancouver. Together, those stores measure about 460,000 square feet. “We’ve realized the value that Energy Star can bring, with programs and assistance and consultants that are extremely knowledgeable,” said Rob Keller, Penney’s energy management and engineering services director. “But we’ve also seen that they can bring a broader perspective. Despite my 18 years of experience here, Energy Star has helped widen our focus with saving energy.” Penney was named the 2007 Energy Star Partner of the Year.

JCPenney has worked since 2001 to reduce energy costs. It has instituted incentive programs to motivate stores to raise efficiency. A computer program allows store managers to monitor energy use on a daily basis. “One thing that has been an issue industrywide is the infrastructure, and not putting the proper monies toward the maintenance of it,” said Keller. “There’s a saying lately of putting the ‘O’ back in ‘O&M’ — or operations and maintenance — and we’ve really tried to do that. It’s less of an equipment and more of a broader systems perspective.”

JCPenney has saved over $54 million in energy costs thus far, says Keller, and the retailer would like to expand the program to all its stores, though it has set no time period for that. But the company does agree that this has been valuable already. “This is really important in two ways,” said Tim Lyons, Penney’s senior public relations manager.

“It’s becoming more and more important for customers to do business with companies that are showing they are responsible and concerned with the climate and efficiency, and as a business, it’s imperative that we operate as efficiently as possible on a day-to-day basis for economical reasons.”

When a retailer receives the Energy Star rating, all its stores receive a bronze plaque that the EPA encourages them to display prominently. Retailers selling Energy Star products can now boast the retail building itself is energy-efficient too — a powerful marketing tool. “We can give energy ratings to big-box stores such as Best Buy, who themselves sell Energy Star products,” said Beard. “I see it as coming full circle. This program is a great way to show Americans that the retailer cares about its impact on the environment.”

The EPA has proved that not only do customers recognize the Energy Star label, they are more inclined to buy a product so marked. In a nationwide survey titled National Awareness of Energy Star for 2006, commissioned by the nonprofit Consortium for Energy Efficiency, over 60 percent of the 2,251 households reported being favorably influenced by the Energy Star label. More than 30 percent knowingly purchased an appliance or product with the rating, and over 70 percent said they are likely to recommend Energy Star products to others.

The JCPenney stores that have earned the rating produce about 35 percent less carbon-dioxide emissions than other stores in their region, the EPA says. This is equal to the amount of electricity needed for about 200 homes. The four stores will be spending nearly $250,000 less on energy per year, says Beard.

The Energy Star program was begun in 1992, but with the addition of the retail component, Beard says she sees the green building movement continuing on an upward trajectory. “With all the different movements [to go green], retailers are starting to look at their own buildings and say, ‘What can I do?’ And we’re starting to see builders with their own motivation saying, ‘I want to build green.’ It’s a really exciting development.” SCT