Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) announced today that nine buildings have earned the EPA’s ENERGY STAR® Certification. This recognition is presented to the most energy-efficient buildings in the country.
“We are extremely pleased to receive this recognition. It’s proof that IPS is operating buildings more efficiently for our students and the community, and illustrates the ways that our district is committed to being fiscally responsible,” said IPS Superintendent Dr. Aleesia Johnson. “Our energy conservation efforts are saving taxpayer dollars while also helping protect the local environment.”
Since partnering with Cenergistic on a comprehensive energy conservation program, IPS has saved $12.8 million. Just as importantly, the environmental impact is equal to taking 19,472 cars off the street or planting 2.3 million trees in our community.
The IPS buildings earning ENERGY STAR Certification are:
- Carl Wilde School 79*
- Charles Warren Fairbanks School 105
- Eleanor Skillen School 34
- Henry W. Longfellow Medical/STEM Middle School 28
- IPS | Butler Laboratory School 60
- James A. Garfield School 31*
- Jonathan Jennings School 109
- Ralph Waldo Emerson School 58*
- Sankofa School of Success @ Arlington Woods 99
Note: Schools with an asterisk (*) also received ENERGY STAR certification in 2019.
To earn ENERGY STAR certification, buildings must rate in the top 25 percent nationwide for energy efficiency and meet ventilation standards.
The cost of utilities is the second-largest budget line item for IPS, and the prices for electricity, natural gas, heating oil and water have been steadily increasing. To combat these rising energy and utility costs, IPSentered into a partnership with Cenergistic to implement a comprehensive organizational behavior-driven energy conservation program throughout all its buildings and campuses. Cenergistic guarantees the conservation program will save taxpayer dollars. Since the program was first implemented, the districthas reduced its energy consumption by 26 percent.