Sears to compete in national Energy Star competition

Hoffman Estates, Ill. -- Sears Holdings said its that Sears Grand in Cape Girardeau, Mo., has been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings to help improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings and protect the environment.



Sears will battle it out against hundreds of other teams representing buildings across the country to work off the waste through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA's Energy Star program.



"Sears is honored to be a part of the EPA's Energy Star National Building Competition for the second consecutive year," said Michael Brown, director, environmental sustainability, Sears Holdings. "We are also excited to get the chance to improve upon our second-place finish in last year's competition."



The 2011 Energy Star National Building Competition includes 245 teams from 26 different types of commercial buildings.



Competitors will measure and track their building's monthly energy consumption using EPA's Energy Star online energy tracking tool, Portfolio Manager, to make improvements to their building's energy performance; and share their progress. Of the initial pool of 245 competitors, a small group of buildings will be selected as finalists in July. Among the finalists, the building that demonstrates the greatest percentage-based reduction in energy use intensity will be recognized as the winner on Nov. 2.



To try to reduce the amount of energy being used the Cape Girardeau Sears Grand store has taken or will take the following actions:

• Completed an interior lighting retrofit, which converted lighting from HID (high-intensity discharge) to more efficient fluorescent lighting.


• Completed an occupancy sensor installation through the building, which will keep lights off when not in use.


• Will maintain strict energy disciplines throughout the competition, having store employees treat the store as they do at their own homes by turning off lights when they leave the room and closing doors to keep cold winds out.