Burton Energy Group was recognized for the fourth time as an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year: Sustained Excellence this year. We are a proud ENERGY STAR partner, and we wanted to share with you what it takes to receive this award and what it really means. ENERGY STAR describes those eligible for the award as, “partners who offer commercial energy services and assist their clients in strategic energy management”. Partners must show “outstanding success” in improving energy performance in private- or public-sector organizations. This success is demonstrated in three categories: organization and business practices, benchmarking and certification, and marketing and recognition.
The application process for the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award has many steps. First, we describe our commitment to improving energy performance, as well as the accomplishments which we have made during that year towards our goal. Next, the ENERGY STAR scores of our managed buildings are considered. These scores are given by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency based on the building characteristics and energy usage. Finally, the applications are reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and decisions are made about the awards.
On their website, ENERGY STAR cites six of our accomplishments in 2017 as evidence for our recognition:
- Benchmarking more than 2,000 properties in Portfolio Manager® and offering certification services to more than 100 buildings in 2017.
- Responding to the growing capabilities of EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager by hiring a waste and recycling specialist and expanding sustainability service offerings.
- Developing and managing McDonald’s ECO2 program, bringing an energy management system modeled after ENERGY STAR to owners and operators of quick-serve restaurants nationally.
- Managing a national retailer’s participation in a Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) Optimization Program in California, enrolling more than 600 HVAC units and saving more than 800,000-kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2017 in Pacific Gas and Electric and Southern California Edison service territories.
- Initiating a comprehensive energy management program across 26 warehouses and distribution centers for a Fortune 500 client, including performing six energy and retro-commissioning audits in 2017.
- Leveraging utility service and product provider status with the ComEd Small Business Energy Efficiency and RCxpress programs at more than 195 locations, delivering millions of kWh of energy savings.
As you can see from above, the process and work necessary to just apply for the award can be daunting. However, it is rewarding and humbling to be among the winners of the Sustained Excellence Award. These companies and individuals not only care about their companies and business but also care about the environment and do what is right for us all for the right reasons.
We are very proud to have been recognized as one of eight companies to receive the Partner of the Year: Sustained Excellence Award in 2018, especially considering the thousands of companies which are recognized as ENERGY STAR partners. We look forward to continuing our work with ENERGY STAR and continuing to work to help our clients to improve their energy performance.
For more information about the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year: Sustained Excellence Award, see here