Faculty and staff for Cherokee County Schools have chalked up more than two million bucks worth of energy-saving behavior. Their energy-efficient changes have achieved significant savings — and those good habits were celebrated at a recent Board of Education meeting. Board members and administrators recognized net savings of more than two million dollars at the July 20 board meeting.
Cherokee County Schools saved the funds with an innovative organizational behavior-based energy conservation and management program through a strategic alliance with Cenergistic, the national energy conservation company presenting the award.
“Reaching this savings mark is a significant milestone,” said Dr. William S. Spears, CEO – Founder of Cenergistic. “Cherokee County Schools has achieved success by consistently implementing a comprehensive approach to energy conservation and maintaining productive efforts at all levels of the organization. Superintendent Mike Welsh and the board, along with other administration, faculty and staff members are to be commended for clearly fulfilling their commitment to being good stewards of the taxpayers’ money and the environment.”
The program delivers financial savings as well as an environmental benefit from reduced carbon footprint. Energy not used prevents the emission of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. According to EPA/EGrid figures, since the program began, Cherokee County Schools have prevented carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to 24,728,558 miles not driven by an average vehicle, or carbon sequestered by 168,600 trees grown for 10 years.
“We’re reaping the benefits of this program with more comfort and better buildings. The engineering and building operations expertise Cenergistic provide is helping us redirect funds we would have paid for energy to other important projects said Superintendent Mike Welsh.
Cherokee County Schools’ comprehensive behavior-based energy conservation program addresses energy use throughout the district. Energy Specialist Russell Jacoway works closely district personnel as well as Cenergistic engineers and experts to continually optimize systems and schedules. They monitor energy use with advanced technology and shape organizational behavior through education — affecting how each person in the organization understands, uses and saves energy for years to come. The outcome is healthier, more efficient buildings using less energy — and lower related costs.
Cenergistic client energy conservation programs have saved more than $6 billion for educational, governmental and ministerial organizations since 1986. This customized energy conservation management approach provides clients more control over energy use with no upfront costs, no new equipment, and no equipment retrofits.
About Cenergistic
Since 1986 Cenergistic has partnered with 1500+ educational, municipal government and healthcare organizations to achieve $6.2 billion in utility savings and cost avoidance. These strong results come from the application of Cenergistic’s organizational behavior-based strategies and are enhanced by our patented Cenergistic GreenX® software platform to drive building and equipment optimization. Our energy conservation program reduces utility consumption by an average of 25% with no capital investment while maintaining or improving the comfort and quality of building environments. For more than a decade, Cenergistic has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year or Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence. To learn more, visit www.cenergistic.com
