2010 'Stars of Energy Efficiency' Also Include Leading Manufacturer, Truck Rental Company, Environmental Organizations, Zoo, Software Developer

Washington, D.C., June 10, 2010 – The Alliance to Save Energy has selected U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) President and CEO Rick Fedrizzi to receive the Charles H. Percy Award for Public Service at its 18th annual Evening with the Stars of Energy Efficiency awards dinner to be held here on September 14. The black-tie gala recognizes individuals and organizations that demonstrate an exemplary and creative commitment to advancing energy efficiency.

Fedrizzi joins an impressive list of award winners that also includes:

• Danfoss
• U-Haul
• Environment Canada and Efficiency New Brunswick
• Cincinnati Zoo
• OPOWER

"The Alliance to Save Energy is proud to honor these take-action energy efficiency leaders," said Alliance President Kateri Callahan. "As demand for energy continues to swell, we must recognize the efforts of those working to advance energy efficiency to create a cleaner energy future for us all."

As the prestigious Charles H. Percy Award recipient, Fedrizzi will be honored for his outstanding public service and exemplary leadership in the global sustainability movement.

"I am honored to receive this award on behalf of my colleagues in the green building industry and commend the Alliance to Save Energy for recognizing the key role green buildings and communities play in solving the energy crisis," said Fedrizzi.

He added: "Green buildings and communities represent our greatest opportunities to revitalize the economy through green jobs and operational cost savings while turning the tide of climate change, preserving water and other natural resources, promoting health and security for all people regardless of geography or income and targeting the greatest causes of global strife, including fossil fuel dependence and a worsening water shortage."

Fedrizzi and two others formed the USGBC in 1993 to bring together building professionals to promote sustainable design, construction and operations. Since Fedrizzi was appointed president and CEO in 2004, the council has tripled its membership to include 17,000 companies, government agencies and nonprofits.

The USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System – a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for rating the environmental performance of new and existing commercial and residential buildings and neighborhoods – is now considered "the tool" for developing a strong environmental foundation within the built environment.

The Alliance will also present these awards at its gala:

Innovative Star of Energy Efficiency Award: Danfoss – one of the world's leading manufacturers of electronic and mechanical components and control systems for refrigeration and air conditioning, heating and power electronics – recently rolled out a number of revolutionary products designed to advance energy efficiency, including the patented Ecoflow valve, performance VSD compressor and ERC102 control.

The Danfoss Ecoflow valve achieves balanced distribution of refrigerant in air-conditioning systems and avoids misdistribution in evaporator circuits. The VSD compressor enhances efficiency and environmental safety while reducing noise emissions, leading to energy savings of up to 35 percent compared to other available compressor technologies. And the ERC102 is designed to cut energy consumption in global commercial refrigeration appliances and can save approximately 35 percent of energy costs on a standard one-door glass door merchandiser.

"The innovative award is a validation of Danfoss EnVisioneeringSM principles - a commitment to investing in research and development to continually deliver products and solutions that dramatically increase energy efficiency and environmental sustainability," said Danfoss North America President Robert Wilkins.

Galaxy Star of Energy Efficiency: U-Haul – North America's largest do-it-yourself moving and storage operator – has pioneered multiple efforts to improve corporate sustainability in the past few years:

The company's Take a Box, Leave a Box program has encouraged the reuse of more than 2.5 million packing/shipping boxes since it began in 2007, and the U-Haul Energy Management Committee provided sustainability grants for 215 energy efficiency projects, resulting in 5,723 kWh saved per month in U-Haul centers across North America. The Sustainable Modular Storage Program, which reuses detached van bodies from retired U-Haul trucks to build sustainably-engineered self-storage units, avoided more than 10,554 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and the company's 3-Wet paint technology, created in partnership with Ford, reduces GHG emissions by an estimated 15 percent per paint job when applied to the company's fleet of 178,500 trucks and trailers. A 2008 study shows every U-Haul truck placed in a local community helps keep 19 personally owned, large-capacity vehicles off the road.

I-Star Award for Energy Efficiency: Environment Canada and Efficiency New Brunswick will be jointly awarded the International Star (I-Star) of Energy Efficiency award for pioneering creative energy efficiency programs and solutions throughout Canada.

Environment Canada has demonstrated leadership in advancing zero energy housing (ZEH) by optimizing energy efficiency and integrating renewable energy in residential building design. Through active participation in key international technology partnerships, Environment Canada is working with the private sector to facilitate energy-efficient housing training, develop an international ZEH roadmap, showcase ZEH at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai and develop demonstration homes in Mexico, China, India, Korea and Japan.

Efficiency New Brunswick's Large Industrial Program engages the province's 30 main industrial facilities in an energy management partnership. The program is based on three key pillars: incentivizing energy efficiency projects, implementing Energy Management Information Systems and educating participants on the importance of accurate and sustained energy savings.

"It is an honor for Efficiency New Brunswick to be the first Canadian organization recognized with this prestigious international award," said President and CEO Elizabeth Weir. "We are extremely proud of the impact we've achieved in energy efficiency, especially in the industrial sector. Our large industry program is an excellent example of the far-reaching benefits of energy efficiency."

Super Nova Star of Energy Efficiency: Known as the "greenest zoo in America," the Cincinnati Zoo has shown an extraordinary commitment to educating its 1.2 million annual visitors about energy-efficient technologies and best practices.

Currently with four LEED certified buildings – the most of any zoo in the U.S. – the Cincinnati Zoo recently opened a new main entrance facility that was the first new construction project in Cincinnati to achieve LEED Platinum designation. The zoo continues to upgrade the infrastructure of existing buildings through major retrofit projects and has reduced its electrical usage by 11 percent since 2005, despite adding 70,000 square feet of built space.

Andromeda Star of Energy Efficiency: OPOWER – an energy efficiency and smart-grid software company – developed a cutting-edge, behavior-based energy efficiency program that consistently delivers energy savings on a large scale.

The program encourages energy-saving behavior with motivating elements such as neighborhood utility bill comparisons and emoticons to connote good or bad conservation habits. Every utility where OPOWER's program has been implemented has achieved energy savings of 1.5 to 3.5 percent across its entire targeted population, averaging savings of up to 500 kWh per customer per year.

The Alliance also awarded an Honorable Mention for the Andromeda Star of Energy Efficiency to the Bowman Design Group – a California-based design and project management firm – for having reduced its carbon emissions by 65 percent in just two years.

The Stars of Energy Efficiency awards will be presented at the Alliance's annual dinner in front of a crowd of more than 500 members of Congress, industry leaders, high-level government officials and federal agency staff. The dinner will be held at the historic Donald W. Reynolds Center in Washington, D.C.