-By Adam Figman

The amount of energy saved by the EPA’s “Energy Star Leaders” – a title given to organizations that had a 10 percent yearly energy reduction across their entire building portfolios and/or are in the top 25 percent of similar buildings nationwide – has quadrupled from 2008 to 2009.  Approximately $48 million was saved and 220,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide was prevented during the year. 
   
A total of 58 organizations, 54 of which are school districts, qualified as Energy Star Leaders in 2009.  Less than half of that qualified the previous year. Top leaders in 2009 include Akridge, Food Lion, LLC, Granite Properties, and the School District of Onalaska, Wisconsin.

More than 100 groups have been Energy Star Leaders since the EPA came out with the title in 2004.  In total, they represent over 5,600 buildings and cover almost 390 million square feet of the U.S.  A full list is available at energystar.gov