Allegheny College Recognized by U.S. Department of Energy as One of Four Higher Education Institutions to Achieve 2023 Better Buildings Challenge Energy Savings Goal

MEADVILLE, Pa., Oct. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized Allegheny College for achieving its energy savings goal as a partner in the Better Buildings Challenge at an event hosted by the White House, and attended by Kelly Boulton, director of sustainability and a key leader in the College's energy initiatives. Allegheny College is one of only four higher education institutions recognized as Better Buildings Challenge 2023 goal achievers and among only 21 higher education institutions that have committed to the challenge.

Boulton attended a summit on Monday at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) where she was joined by sustainability leaders from around the country and United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. Better Buildings is a DOE initiative designed to drive leadership in energy innovation. Goal achievers are leaders in energy efficiency and stand as examples for their peers.

Allegheny College was recognized for achieving energy savings of 22 percent in 10 years by making greater efficiency accomplishments across its building portfolio. The College was the only liberal arts college invited to participate in the kickoff of the Better Buildings Challenge by the Obama Administration in 2011. A nationally recognized leader in sustainability, and carbon neutral since 2020, Allegheny was selected in 2021 to host the "5th World Symposium on Sustainable Development at Universities''. The College's top ranked Environmental Science and Sustainability major engages students in interdisciplinary research and ignites their passions for making the world more equitable, just and sustainable.

"Our Better Buildings Goal Achievers are leaders in their industries—demonstrating that we can reach the nation's ambitious climate goals if we work together and commit to excellence," said DOE Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Jeff Marootian. "Congratulations to the 2023 achievers, who are accelerating innovative solutions to use less energy, reduce emissions, and save money for American families and businesses. We appreciate their dedication and hope more partners can join us as we build our clean energy future."

Allegheny College embraced the Better Buildings challenge as an opportunity to save energy and improve efficiency across its 1.3 million-square-foot building portfolio. A number of initiatives contributed to reaching the goal, including strategies that involved students, faculty, staff and the community and institutional decision-making that impacted efforts.

• Energy efficiency retrofits like boilers, chillers, lighting, and water fixtures
• Behavior changes like Building Automation System scheduling and management, an annual student Energy Challenge, strategically optimizing density of usage in buildings
• Construction and renovation standards for efficiency, geo-exchange heating and cooling,and controls
• Integration of sustainability processes and standards into everything from campus policies to job descriptions
• Completion of an annual greenhouse gas inventory
• Adoption of a Climate Action Plan (2009) with the ambitious goal of carbon neutrality by 2020 which was achieved

"Achieving carbon neutrality in 2020 and exceeding our goal to improve our energy efficiency by 20 percent are simply benchmarks in our longstanding and continuing commitment to modeling sustainable operations," said President Ron Cole, Ph.D. "We are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of our Environmental Science major this year. Allegheny College will continue to serve as a model for other institutions committing to a sustainable future."

For over 20 years, Allegheny College has held sustainability as a core value. In 2002, Allegheny adopted its Environmental Guiding Principles and was a charter signatory with the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC.) And, in 2020, Second Nature recognized the College as a Carbon Neutral Institution, the eighth higher education institution in the United States to do so.

About the Better Building Challenge

The Better Buildings Challenge is one component of the Better Buildings Initiative, through which DOE partners with more than 900 public and private sector organizations to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings more efficient, thereby saving energy and money while creating jobs. Discover more than 3,000 proven efficiency solutions from these partners in the Better Buildings Solution Center.

About Allegheny College

Allegheny College, founded in 1815, is one of the nation's oldest and most innovative four-year colleges where multidisciplinary learning breaks the conventional mold. It is one of the few colleges in the United States with a unique requirement to choose both a major and minor for graduation, to provide students with a cross-disciplinary path in the sciences and humanities for educational depth and intellectual growth. Located in Meadville, Pennsylvania, Allegheny College is one of 40 colleges featured in Loren Pope's "Colleges That Change Lives." Allegheny's environmental science and sustainability major is ranked fourth in the country by environmentalscience.org. In its 2023 rankings, U.S. News & World Report recognized Allegheny College as one of the country's top 100 national liberal arts colleges — and one of the top 25 best for undergraduate research/creative activities.

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SOURCE Allegheny College