Ten buildings within Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® certification for superior energy efficiency.
To be eligible for annual ENERGY STAR certification, a building must earn a score of 75 or higher on EPA’s 1–100 scale, indicating that it performs better than at least 75%of similar buildings nationwide.
The 10 IPS buildings earning recognition are:
- Carl Wilde School 79.*
- Charles Warren Fairbanks School 105*
- Eleanor Skillen School 34.*
- Francis W. Parker School 56.
- Henry W. Longfellow Medical/STEM Middle School 28.*
- IPS | Butler University Laboratory School 60.*
- James A. Garfield School 31.*
- Ralph Waldo Emerson School 58.*
- Raymond F. Brandes School 65.
- Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School.
Note: Schools with an asterisk (*) also received ENERGY STAR certification in 2021.
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 rising energy costs, IPS partnered with Dallas-based Cenergistic in 2018 to implement a comprehensive organizational, behavior-driven energy conservation program throughout all its buildings and campuses.
With Cenergistic’s help, IPS has cut energy use by 25% since 2018, saving the district $18.1 million in energy costs. In 2022, IPS reduced its energy consumption 28.1 percent over the previous year — a move that sliced the district’s energy costs by $5 million.
This energy use avoidance would be the same as removing 5,345 cars off the road or planting 65,788 trees. Energy use avoidance means the amount of energy resources (such as gasoline) not used because of initiatives related to conservation.
“Earning 10 ENERGY STAR certifications this year — 30 total since the start of the partnership — is validation of the successful efforts of every person in the district,” said Dr. William S. Spears, Cenergistic founder & CEO. “Congratulations to IPS personnel who have diligently worked to operate healthier, more efficient buildings while saving resources that support better student outcomes.”