“Pollution Prevention Week is a great time for residents, businesses and academic institutions to get involved in cutting back energy use and preventing pollution,” Secretary Hess said. “Penn State is setting an example by agreeing to measure, track and benchmark its energy performance as an Energy Star partner. In addition, the university will develop and implement a plan to improve energy performance for its facilities and operations.”

The Energy Star program complements many of the energy-conservation initiatives already in place at the university. Penn State carefully tracks its energy usage with sophisticated computer software, and monitors and controls the heating and cooling of many buildings through a central control system.

“Penn State University is committed to energy conservation as demonstrated by its vast research programs and our focus on this issue in daily operations,” Penn State President Graham B. Spanier said. “The Penn State Environmental Consortium, The Energy Institute, the Office of Physical Plant and many of our colleges are deeply involved in these energy-saving projects and research.”

Energy Star was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. EPA partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy in 1996 to promote the Energy Star label, with each agency taking responsibility for particular product categories. Energy Star has expanded to cover new homes, most of the buildings sector, residential heating and cooling equipment, major appliances, office equipment, lighting, consumer electronics, and many other home and business products.

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Contact: Megan Martin, Department of Environmental Protection, (717) 787-1323.