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March 3, 2010

Shaw plant receives EPA designation

Submitted by Shaw Industries Dalton Daily Citizen

DALTON — Shaw Industries Plant 95 in Dalton has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star designation, a national symbol for superior energy efficiency and environmental protection. Buildings with the Energy Star rank in the top 25 percent of energy efficient facilities nationwide.

Commercial buildings that earn the Energy Star use on average 35 percent less energy than typical buildings, and also release approximately 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

“Improving the energy efficiency of our nation’s buildings is critical to preserving our environment and natural resources,” said Jean Lupinacci, chief of EPA’s  Energy Star commercial and industrial branch. “From office buildings to hotels, supermarkets to schools, the Energy Star distinguishes those organizations who are taking environmental responsibility into their own hands.”

“Earning Energy Star for Dalton’s first privately owned building is a tremendous accomplishment for Shaw and for our community,” said Jason Bowling, Shaw director of corporate facilities. “Strategically managing energy consumption across all of our corporate facilities is an integral part of our sustainability commitment and a significant means of maximizing energy efficiency and limiting greenhouse gas emissions for our entire organization. It’s also a valuable opportunity for us to demonstrate and drive best practices at our facilities for environmental responsibility.”

Achieving Energy Star was a 12-month process that involved monitoring, analyzing and adjusting every aspect of the building’s energy consumption, according to Shaw facilities engineer Craig Hyde, one member of the Energy Star project team. The team hopes to build on the achievement by taking other Shaw buildings through the Energy Star process, he added.

According to Shaw vice president of sustainability Rick Ramirez, earning Energy Star for one of Shaw’s facilities is another demonstration of the company’s environmental leadership.

“Successfully improving the energy efficiency of our facilities is one of the most fundamental steps we can take towards achieving our corporate environmental goals, which include a commitment to reducing our overall energy intensity by 25 percent by 2017,” Ramirez said. “Achieving the Energy Star designation is another significant step towards this goal and evidence of the comprehensive nature of Shaw’s sustainability commitment and leadership.”

Energy Star is awarded to buildings that score 75 or higher on the EPA’s national energy performance rating system. The system provides a 1 to 100 scale that helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. Shaw Plant 95 scored an 87 on the scale, indicating that it is more energy efficient than 87 percent of the similar buildings indexed in the country.

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