Nevada Energy Star Partners launches new ‘Save’ campaign

Nevada Energy Star partners -- a voluntary coalition of Southern Nevada homebuilders, developers, retailers, mortgage providers, energy consultants and local utilities -- has launched its 2009 Energy Star campaign with the motto: "Together we save."

The annual awareness-building campaign, funded by contributions from partners, is designed to increase Energy Star brand awareness and promote a green lifestyle by demonstrating how easy it is to save resources at home and work.

The partnership encourages members to make Energy Star standards the foundation for pro-environmental initiatives that also include water and resource conservation and air quality improvement.

The group received the 2009 Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award at a March 31 ceremony in Washington, D.C. for its Nevada efforts to save energy.

According to Annette Bubak, president of the 2009 Nevada Energy Star campaign, Nevada Energy Star Partners is broadening its reach by bringing together organizations and companies from a variety of industries and disciplines to forge a community-wide Green Alliance.

"The goal of the Green Alliance is to create opportunities for businesses and individuals interested in green practices to meet and work together via seminars, workshops, mixers and educational events," she said.

Nevada Energy Star 2009 Partners include Platinum Partners -- NV Energy; Custom ENERGY Systems and Rolladen Rolling Shutters.

Silver Partners include BSB Design, Energy Inspectors, Pulte Homes, Distinctive Homes, Redrock Insulation, Southwest Gas, Toll Brothers, Whirlpool Appliances and Lennar Homes.

Major media sponsors are Las Vegas Review-Journal and Beasley Radio. Honorary Partners include The Green Energy Show, Faiss Foley Warren Public Relations, Abbott Printing, Juice Media, Lamar, Q-Media, Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and Las Vegas High Rise and Condominium Association.

Now in its ninth year, Nevada Energy Star Partners has enlarged the campaign this year via a statewide initiative that includes Northern Nevada.

"We've experienced incredible success in Southern Nevada with consumer awareness of Energy Star at more than 90 percent, and more than 67 percent of all new homes built to meet or exceed Energy Star standards," Bubak said. "We want to replicate that success statewide by modeling the partnership's programs here in Southern Nevada."

According to Bubak, the 2009 Nevada Energy Star campaign has broadened to encompass all facets of residential development, including new construction, mid- and high-rise facilities and existing homes. In 2008, Nevada Energy Star Partners was one of only three markets in the country to launch a national pilot program for high-rise residential condominiums.

"For many years when Southern Nevada was in a period of explosive growth, it made sense to focus primarily on new construction," Bubak said. "Today, we have created initiatives to address the existing home market via retrofit programs. We are also working with manufacturers to highlight and promote Energy Star products, appliances and services. Together, these initiatives make a significant difference in reducing environmental impact while saving money for consumers."

Energy Star, the national U.S. government symbol for energy efficiency, was created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency originally for energy-conserving computers in 1992 and is now jointly implemented with the U.S. Department of Energy. Since its origin, the program has been expanded to include more than 40 product categories that conserve energy and protect the environment. Energy Star products use less energy which reduces consumption of fossil fuels and resulting air pollution.

Current specifications call for higher levels of insulation; complete framing and air barrier assemblies that enable insulation to perform at its full rated R-value; windows that meet or exceed Energy Star requirements; high-efficiency and properly sized cooling equipment; and more energy-efficient water heating, lighting and appliances. According to the EPA, homes built to these specifications use 15 percent less energy than homes built to standard codes.

Now in its ninth year, Nevada Energy Star includes partners representing utility companies, builders and developers and manufacturers of energy-saving products. The partnership recently received the EPA's Sustained Excellence award in a special ceremony in Washington, D.C. in April. This is the seventh consecutive year the group has received this award -- a feat accomplished by no other Energy Star partnership in the country.

For more information, visit thinkenergystar.com. Nevada Energy Star Partners encourages consumers and businesses to share how they are making a difference. Submit your story or tip on the Web site.