by Jbs030709 h3 — March 11, 2009—JC Penney Company was recently honored by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) with the Energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence in Energy Management—the first retailer to be so honored for its efforts in using energy efficiently in facility operations and integrating superior energy management into its overall organizational strategy. Award winners are selected from more than 12,000 organizations that participate in the Energy Star program.
JCPenney has been a member of the US government’s Energy Star program since 1999 and was honored as an Energy Star Partner of the Year in 2007 and 2008. Using data and tools available through Energy Star program, JCPenney says it has improved energy efficiency throughout its operations. In 2008, the company reportedly reduced energy use and comparable CO2 emissions across its building portfolio by more than 80 million pounds.
The company says it has invested more than $100 million in the past six years to install energy management technology, lighting retrofits, and high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in its stores. More than 800 stores are now equipped with an Energy Management System (EMS), which provides remote monitoring of the store’s electrical and mechanical systems, schedules the operation of lighting and HVAC equipment, monitors store comfort levels, and identifies opportunities for saving energy.
Currently, 52 JCPenney stores, as well as the JCPenney Home Office in Plano, Texas, have qualified for the Energy Star Building Label, and the company has set a goal to achieve Energy Star certification of at least 200 stores across the country. The company also became the first national retailer to receive Designed to Earn the Energy Star (DEES) certification for two of its stores in 2008. JCPenney has expanded this initiative and intends to seek DEES status for all future new stores.
In addition, construction is under way in Fairview, Texas, on the company’s first store expected to obtain LEED certification, and JCPenney is one of 21 companies selected to participate in the US Department of Energy’s Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative to achieve cost-effective energy savings through innovation. JCPenney is also exploring renewable energy projects: nine stores are currently hosting rooftop solar power installations, and a pilot wind power project is being installed at one distribution center.
