Las Vegas Business Press honors Nevada Energy Star Partners

Nevada Energy Star Partners, a voluntary coalition of Southern Nevada homebuilders, developers, retailers, mortgage providers, energy consultants and local utilities promoting energy conservation, has won a Green award from the Las Vegas Business Press in the Resources category. The award was presented to Nevada Energy Star Partners President Annette Bubak during a ceremony held at the Springs Preserve July 24.

The resources award is presented to the company, individual or organization that best demonstrates attention to conservation by reducing energy consumption, using water innovatively or preserving natural resources in an environmentally conscious way.

According to Bubak, through the efforts of Nevada Energy Star Partners, which promotes energy conservation through annual campaigns, consumer awareness of Energy Star has grown to more than 90 percent and more than 67 percent of all new homes are now built to meet or exceed Energy Star standards. The number of Energy Star homes in Southern Nevada has grown from fewer than 100 in 1998 to nearly 80,000 in 2007.

"The environmental benefits translate to the equivalent of eliminating emissions from more than 37,00 vehicles, saving more than 227 million pounds of coal, planting more than 62,000 trees or saving more than 445 million pounds of carbon monoxide each year," Bubak said.

"When Nevada Energy Star Partners was formed in 2000, very few Southern Nevadans had even heard of Energy Star homes or appliances," Bubak said. "Today, Energy Star is a household word and applies to a wide range of products and services that use and promote energy conservation."

Nevada Energy Star Partner's 2009 campaign, Together we save, is funded by contributions from partners and promotes a green lifestyle by demonstrating how easy it is to save resources at home, work, school and play.

According to Bubak, Nevada Energy Star Partners is broadening its reach by bringing together organizations and companies from a variety of industries and disciplines to forge a community-wide Green Alliance.

"The goal of the Green Alliance creates opportunities for businesses and individuals interested in green practices to meet and work together via seminars, workshops, mixers and educational events," she said.

Now in its ninth year, Nevada Energy Star Partners has enlarged the campaign this year through a statewide initiative to include Northern Nevada.

The partnership is also broadening its reach to encompass all facets of residential development, including new construction, mid/high rise facilities and existing homes.

In 2008, Nevada Energy Star Partners was one of only three markets in the country to launch a national pilot program for high-rise residential condominiums.

"For many years when Southern Nevada was in a period of explosive growth, it made sense to focus primarily on new construction," Bubak said. "Today, we have created initiatives to address the existing home market via retrofit programs. We are also working with manufacturers to highlight and promote Energy Star products, appliances and services. Together, these initiatives make a significant difference in reducing environmental impact while saving money for consumers."

Energy Star, the national United States government symbol for energy efficiency, was created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency originally for energy-conserving computers in 1992 and is now jointly implemented with the U.S. Department of Energy.

Since its origin, the program has been expanded to include more than 40 product categories that conserve energy and protect the environment.

Nevada Energy Star Partners was recently recognized in April 2009 by the EPA at a ceremony, in Washington, D.C., with its most distinguished award, Sustained Excellence. This is the seventh consecutive year Nevada Energy Star Partners has received this award -- a feat accomplished by no other Energy Star partnership in the country.

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