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Once a year, the Alliance to Save Energy holds a gala black tie dinner and awards ceremony to pay tribute to those who have contributed in a meaningful way to the cause of energy efficiency. The caliber of this year’s applicants established a new benchmark, creating a daunting selection process for our “judges”, the Alliance Development and Awards Committee which is chaired by Alliance Board member James DeGraffenreidt, Jr. After careful review, many months of deliberation and a record number of meetings, the Committee has chosen its award winners. On behalf of the Chairman and Committee, as well as the Board and staff of the Alliance to Save Energy, we are delighted to announce the 2004 roster of the Stars of Energy Efficiency. Also, see the winners of the Chairman's Award, Charles H. Percy Award, and Lifetime Achievement Award. Bank of America
Whether it is lighting replacements, energy efficient signage, improved facility management systems, HVAC upgrades, or investment in emerging energy technologies such as Internet based artificial intelligence control systems and retrofits, Bank of America has invested in it all; and as a result is now saving more than 100 million KWH of electric energy consumption annually, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80,000 tons per year. Marriott International, Inc.
As a result, Marriott is now saving more than 80 million KWH of electric energy consumption annually, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 64,000 tons per year. These efforts are part of Marriott International’s commitment to continuous improvement in energy performance, and have helped the company earn the ENERGY STAR rating for 19 of its top-performing hotels, making Marriott the hospitality industry's leader in energy management. The company operates and franchises hotels under the Marriott, JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Residence Inn, Courtyard, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn, SpringHill Suites, Ramada International and Bulgari brand names in the United States and 69 other countries. Marriott International is ranked as the lodging industry's most admired company and one of the best places to work by FORTUNE®. Bonneville Power Administration & Southern California Edison Recognizing the important role of the electric utility industry in advancing energy efficiency, the Alliance is presenting this prestigious award to leading companies representing the investor owned and publicly-held utilities. Bonneville Power Administration(BPA) and Southern California Edison (SCE) will be awarded a joint Star of Energy Efficiency in recognition of their successful promotion of energy efficiency as a cost-effective energy resource to solve grid reliability and congestion problems in the West.
The Alliance would like to take this opportunity to recognize and express our appreciation to the Awards and Development Committee for their selection of the 2004 Stars of Energy Efficiency and for their continuing leadership in the organization of this year’s dinner, “Celebrating the Season of Energy Efficiency”
James DeGraffenreidt, Washington Gas (CHAIR) Noelle Britton, Siemens Building Technologies |
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Bank of America will be awarded a Star of Energy Efficiency for itsintegrated and company-wide commitment to energy conservation and efficiency. Bank of America has a unique, holistic approach to energy management that encompasses its core business operations (investment), its associate awareness programs and its public education campaigns. A pioneer in non-traditional energy conservation since 1999, the Bank has made a point of prioritizing its environmental commitment to energy and fossil fuel use, consumption and waste, climate change and biodiversity. Setting a goal to reduce fossil fuel energy consumption by three percent, Bank of America has implemented numerous energy efficiency projects, and enhanced its building operations, as illustrated by the construction of its new Platinum LEEDs certified Headquarters in New York.
Marriott International, Inc. will be awarded a Star of Energy Efficiency for its leadership in the hospitality industry in enterprise-wide energy management. With more than 2,800 lodging properties worldwide, the company has improved the environment and its bottom line through the implementation of energy savings practices and subsequent improved energy performance. Marriott’s global energy team has helped ensure that more than 90 percent of its hotels has undergone a variety of energy efficiency improvements, including lighting replacements which conserve energy usage by more than 30 percent, electronic thermostats, new brand signs with LED technology, and central plant upgrades and recommissioning. All Marriott hotel engineers have received the company's Energy Conservation Program training, which outlines a comprehensive approach to energy management. 
BPA’s investment in a broad portfolio of innovative energy efficiency and energy conservation programs since the early 1980s enabled this Northwest based utility, which is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Energy, to meet about 25 perecent of the total regional load growth (about 2,600 aMWs) between 1980 and 2002. This savings represents the second-largest federal electricity “resource”, surpassed only by hydroelectric generation in 2003. In addition, BPA has helped to leverage additional capital for cost-effective conservation throughout the Northwest through various initiatives and commitments from demand-side management as a way to planning grid replacement and upgrades, conservation and low income weatherization. BPA also has facilitated $10 million of energy efficiency installations at federal facilities and is targeting an additional $15 million for federal facility upgrade projects during the current year (2004). 
SCE for its part boasts an unbroken record of more than 25 years of providing energy efficiency programs to its customers. These programs and state standards have enabled SCE’s customers to hold per capita electricity use virtually constant while the rest of the nation struggled to meet per capita electricity use growth rates of nearly 50 percent. Since 1998 SCE has been budgeting $105 million of public goods charge funds annually to energy efficiency programs, and even increased this level of funding during the 2001 energy crisis in the state. Over the last five years, these investments have provided the highest energy savings of any energy efficiency program administrator in the nation, and importantly, they eliminated the need to build a large, 500 MW power plant. By adding energy procurement funding, SCE has now increased energy efficiency budgets for 2004-5 to $170 million per year. And, it is proposing to increase annual spending for 2006-2014 still more, to an average $245 million per year. These funds are intended to obviate the need for a large new power plant every 2 ½ years by reducing energy consumption through efficiency and conservation. SCE is committed to energy efficiency as the first-priority resource for its long-term energy plans.