Earth Day may be observed just one day a year, but Energy Optimizers, USA, is helping Oak Hills Local Schools lead the charge on earth- and resource-friendly practices every day by sponsoring the creation of Green Teams.
eNewsChannels NEWS: TIPP CITY, Ohio — Earth Day may be observed just one day a year, but Energy Optimizers, USA, is helping Oak Hills Local Schools lead the charge on earth- and resource-friendly practices every day by sponsoring the creation of Green Teams.
Green Teams engage students, staff and the community in developing, promoting and implementing energy savings and sustainability programs throughout their school districts. Energy Optimizers, USA, sponsors the teams at every school district where it completes a comprehensive energy conservation project.
“The Green Teams are about bringing the work we do with school districts full circle,” said Greg Smith, president of Energy Optimizers, USA. “Our solutions enable school districts to conserve energy by replacing outdated electrical and HVAC systems with energy efficient alternatives. Then we help these districts create grassroots-level teams that are engaged in creating and leading long-term energy conservation and sustainability projects that all students can contribute to or learn from.”
At Oak Hills Local Schools, the Green Team’s efforts have resulted in a massive recycling project and district-wide energy savings efforts. The team started off the 2016-2017 school year by placing zero-waste tables in all of the district’s cafeterias. The zero-waste tables will help each building minimize how much trash goes to the landfill by enabling students and staff to separate their waste into compost, recyclables and trash.
To improve the district’s energy efficiency, the Green Team students crafted an email for staff educating them about energy conservation. The message explained that keeping classroom doors closed during the colder months improves the energy efficiency of the heating system. Following the release of the email, the percentage of doors closed rose from 75 percent to 84 percent.
“The Green Teams have been an asset to our schools, not just because they are engaging our students and staff in adopting sustainability principles, but also because they are giving our Green Team members a chance to take on leadership roles in our schools,” said Jeff Brandt, Superintendent. “Our students have an opportunity to tackle real-world challenges and see the results of their efforts.”
In addition to providing the materials and support to get the teams up and running, Energy Optimizers, USA, provides scholarships for participating students, an educational trip to The Ohio State University to build a district “Energy Bike” and numerous after-school activities.
For Smith, sponsoring Green Teams isn’t just about instilling conservation-minded habits in school districts and their communities. Smith is also helping to shape the future of the industry. That’s because the teams offer the additional benefit of exposing students to career pathways in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.
“STEM careers in general and energy management careers in particular are high growth fields,” said Smith. “Our hope is that by exposing students to these career options, they may take an interest in the field and perhaps one day work for us.”
About Energy Optimizers, USA:
Energy Optimizers, USA works with educational, governmental, commercial and industrial customers to implement energy savings opportunities to reduce operational costs, including lighting retrofits, renewable energy projects (wind and solar), HVAC retrofit projects, building automation retrofits and energy education programs. The company was named to the INC. Magazine Top 500 list of fastest growing companies in the U.S. (2014), was named the Fastest Growing Company in the region for two consecutive years by the Dayton Business Journal (2013, 2014), and was named a finalist in the Dayton Business Journal Best Places To Work competition in 2016.
To learn more about Energy Optimizers, USA, visit their website at http://energyoptusa.com or call them at (937) 877-1919.
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