Working with Different Groups in the Community

These fact sheets provide information on energy use, energy efficiency opportunities, partnership possibilities, and key leverage points for major sectors including:

Schools (3.49MB) — The annual energy bill to run America’s primary and secondary schools is a staggering $6 billion — more than is spent on textbooks and computers combined!

Small Businesses (2.02MB) — Small business owners can typically save as much money and prevent as much pollution, per square foot, as large organizations.

Local Government (2.2MB) — Government agencies spend over $10 billion a year on energy to provide public services and meet constituent needs — while grappling with tightening budgets. Yet nearly one-third of the energy used to run typical government buildings goes to waste.

Supermarkets (2.34MB) — A 10 percent reduction in energy costs for the average supermarket can boost profit margins by as much as 6 percent and earnings per share by nearly 7 percent.

Healthcare (2.61MB) — Healthcare organizations spend over $6.5 billion on energy each year to meet patient needs. Every dollar a nonprofit healthcare organization saves on energy is equivalent to generating new revenues of $20 for hospitals or $10 for medical offices.

Commercial Real Estate (1.99MB) — Energy represents 30 percent of the typical office building’s costs and is a property’s single largest operating expense.

Higher Education (7.13MB) — ENERGY STAR helps institutions become environmental leaders and save money for repair and renovation, hiring of new faculty, new construction, and other core activities.

Residential Homebuilders (1.79MB) — With a life expectancy of 50–100 years, ensuring that new homes are energy efficient is an excellent way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the residential sector and save American homeowners millions of dollars.

Home Improvement (2.22MB) — A typical household spends $1900 per year on energy bills, half of which are heating and cooling costs. EPA estimates that homeowners can save up to 30% on energy bills with ENERGY STAR.

Congregations (2.1MB) — Congregations can more easily improve stewardship of their budget’s energy dollars, and of the earth by reducing energy waste and energy costs, while protecting the environment.

Hotels and Hospitality (2.38MB) — Reducing energy use by 10 percent across the hospitality industry would save $285 million.

Manufacturing and Industry (2.59MB) — More than 30% of all energy used in the United States is consumed by manufacturing operations. Whether making steel, refining oil, or canning vegetables, there is a lot of room for improving energy efficiency throughout the industry.

Architecture (196KB) — By 2035, 75 percent of the buildings in the United States will be either new or renovated. Architects have a unique opportunity to change the way buildings use energy and contribute to carbon emissions.