DMPS Earns 2019 Energy Star Partner of the Year Award
8th Year in a Row for Energy Star Honor to DMPS
Des Moines Public Schools is proud to announce that it received the 2019 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award for continued leadership and superior contributions to ENERGY STAR. The accomplishments of DMPS will be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on April 11, 2019.
Key energy efficiency and conservation initiatives at DMPS during the past year include:
- Saving more than $16 million and preventing the emissions of more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide since 2008, while achieving an average portfolio-wide ENERGY STAR score of 79, an increase of more than two percent from the previous year.
- Utilizing the ENERGY STAR Treasure Map for K-12 Schools to complete building tune-up audits, identifying savings opportunities in 15 buildings.
- Creating individualized energy posters and report cards for every school building to increase awareness and educate students, faculty, and the community on the important of energy conservation.
- Spending an average of $120 per student on energy costs, significantly lower than the national average of $205 per student while continuing its initiative to install 100 percent LED lighting by 2020 leading to an annual savings of $197,000 in energy costs.
- Encouraging Des Moines area businesses and community members to engage with ENERGY STAR and enrolling DMPS buildings in the Energize Des Moines voluntary competition.
- Helping the city earn a place on EPA’s 2018 ENERGY STAR Top Cities list of mid-sized cities, with 50 of the 66 buildings earning ENERGY STAR certification in Des Moines coming from the school district.
“I applaud the 2019 ENERGY STAR Award Winners,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Bill Wehrum. “Their innovation and leadership enhance America’s economic competitiveness. Reducing costly energy waste improves air quality and public health while protecting the environment.”
“Our school district is financially challenged as a result of less than adequate funding over the past several years, and so energy conservation is extremely important in helping us save dollars for our students,” noted Bill Good, chief operations officer for Des Moines Public Schools. “This commitment has created a model for the optimization of our limited community resources, one more example of our district’s vision of being the model for urban education in the United States.”
The highest honor among ENERGY STAR Awards is the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year—Sustained Excellence Award. EPA presents the Sustained Excellence Award to partners that have already received ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year recognition for a minimum of two consecutive years and have gone above and beyond the criteria needed to qualify for recognition. Winners hail from small, family-owned businesses to Fortune 500 organizations – representing energy-efficient products, services, new homes, and buildings in the commercial, industrial, and public sectors.