The Better Buildings Challenge is a program within the U.S. Department of Energy that has been encouraging companies to become more energy efficient.
Companies recently joined the Better Buildings Challenge in an effort to reduce energy consumption.
The program supports commercial and industrial building owners who are upgrading to energy efficient lighting solutions. According to the website, it costs about $200 billion a year to light commercial buildings and approximately 30 percent of that energy is wasted. Companies and businesses who join the challenge must commit to a portfolio-wide energy savings goal of at least 20 percent by 2020, according to the challenge’s website.
Upgrades to reduce energy use can include installing LED fixtures, which help businesses and buildings reduce energy usage and cut costs. They also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the environment.
Macy’s joins the Better Buildings Challenge
Macy’s recently joined the Better Buildings Challenge, a national energy efficient upgrade initiative. According to Triple Pundit, the company will install high efficiency lighting in a number of its commercial buildings. More than 1 million conventional accent light bulbs will be replaced with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and help Macy’s reduce energy usage by 70 percent, according to the article. Macy’s Five-Point Action Plan for sustainability has helped the company reduce energy consumption by 19 percent from 2003 to 2009, Triple Pundit reported. The sustainability plan seeks to reduce usage by another eight to 10 percent by 2013.
Sprint also joins challenge Sprint announced they were also joining the Better Buildings Challenge as part of a company-wide effort to reduce energy usage. According to Energy Manager Today, the company will reduce energy usage 20 percent by 2017. Upgrades to facility lighting can make buildings more efficient and help to reduce energy and maintenance costs.
Businesses that are interested in joining the Better Buildings Challenge, or just becoming energy efficient, can contact a Lumenistics Lighting Specialist for more information.