Southface Teams Named Top Finishers in EPA’s ENERGY STAR® National Building Competition Nonprofits Show Positive Results by Leading the Way in Energy and Water Efficiency

Southface announced today that both of its teams - Boys & Girls Clubs All Stars and Grants to Green 2015 successfully completed EPA’s 2015 ENERGY STAR® National Building Competition. The competition was a chance for more than 6,500 buildings and 125 teams to save money as they competed to improve energy and water efficiency, lower utility costs and protect public health and the environment. Combined, the Southface teams reduced their energy and water costs by more than $455,000 in 2015.

The Boys & Girls Clubs All Stars team placed first in water savings and second in energy savings overall. The team was comprised of 12 buildings across seven states in the southeast that participated in the recently established BGCA Energy & Water Efficiency Program (EWEP). Eight of these buildings are recognized as top savers and/or for reaching the 20 percent competition savings goal. Collectively, the BGCA All Stars team have realized $131,574 in annual utilities cost savings.

“The results have made a big impact on how our organization views savings and conserving. The savings on utilities enable us to add needed program supplies, hire additional staff, and help us raise money to secure additional needs for our Clubs,” said Robbie Slocumb, Executive Director of Boys & Girls Club of Chattooga, Gordon, Murray and Whitfield Counties.

The Grants to Green 2015 team finished third in water savings and tenth in energy savings. The team consisted of seven buildings and three of these; A Friend's House, Woodruff Arts Center and Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School will be recognized for reaching the 20 percent competition savings goal. With team savings totaling $362,568 these Atlanta nonprofits will be able to provide more arts, youth and social service programs.

“The teams competing in this year’s Battle of the Buildings showed incredible dedication and ingenuity in finding ways to save energy and water,” said Jean Lupinacci, chief of the ENERGY STAR Commercial and Industrial Branch. “Their achievements don’t just help their own bottom line through lower utility bills, they also help all of us by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and demonstrating what savings are possible in the built environment.

The 2015 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition measured energy performance over the entire 2015 calendar year. Competitors tracked their building's monthly energy consumption using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager® in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. Thousands of businesses and organizations work with EPA’s ENERGY STAR program and are saving billions of dollars and preventing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere each year.

For more information about the 2015 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition, visit www.energystar.gov/battleofthebuildings, EPA’s online energy and water measurement and tracking tool. Energy use

About the BGCA Energy & Water Efficiency Program (EWEP)

Supported by funding from The JPB Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) partnered with Southface to create the BCGA Energy & Water Efficiency Program (EWEP) to demonstrate the economic and environmental benefits of high-impact energy and water efficiency improvements in Boys & Girls Club facilities. The program’s goal is to reduce club utility expenses by 20 percentannually so that those funds can be redirected to support the BGCA mission.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. .

About Grants to Green

Since 2008, Grants to Green has helped metro Atlanta nonprofit organizations assess facilities, identify and implement energy, water and resource-efficiency upgrades and adopt best practices for sustainability. Grants to Green is a partnership between the Kendeda Fund, The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and Southface.

Southface is the Southeast’s nonprofit leader in the promotion of sustainable homes, workplaces and communities through education, research, advocacy and technical assistance. Learn more at www.southface.org.