Chicago, IL (May 5, 2022)—The University of Chicago is proud to announce that it has received the 2022 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

UChicago Sr. Director of Energy Services and Sustainability Adam D’Ambrosio stated that “The ENERGY STAR Partnership provides us with energy management guidelines, benchmarking tools, energy savings resources, and tools for community engagement that are critical to improving our energy management program so that we can achieve our aggressive greenhouse gas emissions goals.”

“The ENERGY STAR program allows us to achieve our sustainability goals while reducing expenses, improving maintenance and our campus user experience, and reducing risks associated with our utilities” according to UChicago’s Associate Vice President of Facilities Services Jim McConnell.

In 2021, UChicago developed a greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan, with a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy that details steps necessary to achieve the University’s 50% absolute GHG emissions reduction goal by 2030. UChicago completed preventative maintenance and commissioning projects in 2.75 million square feet across 14 buildings that are projected to reduce GHG emissions by 4,600 MT eCO₂. UChicago also increased engagement with students and the campus community through a student research assistant program, quarterly energy newsletters, and energy management webpages and social media accounts that share energy program information, energy efficiency success stories, and campus utility data via energy dashboards.

“We know it’s going to take all of us working together to tackle the climate crisis, and the 2022 ENERGY STAR award-winning partners are demonstrating what it takes to build a more sustainable future,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “These companies are showing once again that taking action in support of a clean energy economy can be good not only for the environment, but also for business and customers.”

Each year, the ENERGY STAR program honors a group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy achievements. ENERGY STAR award winners lead their industries in the production, sale, and adoption of energy-efficient products, homes, buildings, services, and strategies. These efforts are essential to fighting the climate crisis and protecting public health.

Winners are selected from a network of thousands of ENERGY STAR partners. For a complete list of 2022 winners and more information about ENERGY STAR’s awards program, visit energystar.gov/awardwinners. The University of Chicago is a member of the Ivy Plus Sustainability Consortium and contributing author to the APPA sustainability library. UChicago is active both nationally and in the community, sharing best practices with Chicago-area academic and cultural organizations and other higher education institutions. UChicago is a proud ENERGY STAR partner.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR^® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including more than 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners helped American families and businesses avoid more than $500 billion in energy costs and achieve more than 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. More background information about ENERGY STAR’s impacts can be found at www.energystar.gov/impacts and state-level information can be found at www.energystar.gov/statefacts.