Cleveland Clinic Honored by EPA as a 2016 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Cleveland Clinic with a 2016 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year – Energy Management Award for its outstanding efforts to improve the energy efficiency of U.S. buildings and facilities through its actions. Cleveland Clinic, an ENERGY STAR partner since 2008, will be recognized in Washington, D.C. on April 13, 2016.

“We are excited and honored to be named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year,” said Bill Peacock, Cleveland Clinic’s Chief of Operations. “We have been successful in working toward our mission to reach a 20 percent reduction in energy consumption by 2020 by cultivating a conservation mindset among our 45,000-plus employees – from our leadership to our frontline caregivers.”

In 2011, Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Toby Cosgrove, MD, accepted President Obama’s Better Buildings Challenge, committing to reduce energy intensity by 20 percent by 2020, while transparently showcasing the solutions used to reach the goal. This public promise launched Cleveland Clinic’s long-term commitment to energy conservation.

In the four years since accepting the Better Buildings Challenge, Cleveland Clinic has reduced its energy demand by 12.3 percent (through 2015). Key components to this reduction include:

• Partnering with the EPA to track performance and in the promotion of energy efficiency by using ENERGY STAR-rated lighting, appliances and equipment as part of energy and building standards.
• Implementing an industry-leading LED lighting retrofit strategy that reduces energy consumption by 28,600,000 kilowatts each year– roughly the same as removing approximately 2,600 houses from the electrical grid.
• Launching an operating room (OR) setback strategy that standardizes the number of air exchanges, room temperatures, humidity and proper pressures across the enterprise, resulting in energy reductions while maintaining State and Federal regulations.
• Engaging hospital caregivers with a variety of strategies featuring a diverse range of tools from word of mouth to print materials to formal e-trainings to creative promotions, special events and tours that generated more than 150,000 communication touch points in 2015 alone.

In addition to these projects, Cleveland Clinic continues to improve the energy efficiency of its existing buildings by optimizing building systems, making targeted reinvestments, managing the energy consumed by electronic devices, utilizing ENERGY STAR-rated equipment, as well as numerous other energy reduction projects and programs.

“Cleveland Clinic is firmly committed to reducing our environmental impact through efficient energy management,” said Jon Utech, Senior Director for Cleveland Clinic’s Office for a Healthy Environment. “As a leader in the healthcare industry, we consider it our responsibility to also be a leader in energy conservation and overall sustainability policies and practices. Environmental health and human health are intrinsically linked, and as we become more efficient, we make our region healthier.”

The 2016 Partner of the Year – Energy Management Award is given to organizations for adopting a continuous energy management strategy across the organization’s entire portfolio of buildings and plants. Recipients are chosen from ENERGY STAR’s vast network of 16,000 partners working to protect the environment through greater energy efficiency, including manufacturers, retailers, public schools, hospitals, real estate companies, and home builders.

For a complete list of 2016 winners and more information about ENERGY STAR’s awards program, visit www.energystar.gov/awardwinners.

For more information on Cleveland Clinic’s energy conservation and sustainability efforts, visit www.clevelandclinic.org/sustainability.