Local Organizations Team Up to Increase Energy Awareness in Kansas Schools

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (June 29, 2007) - Custom Energy today announced that it has partnered with the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center-Greenbush to bring energy awareness training to Kansas schools. The two groups signed a memorandum of understanding with the goal of making energy awareness training services more readily available to Greenbush member districts, ultimately to the benefit of Kansas school children.

“Greenbush is excited about partnering with Custom Energy so that the school districts we serve may benefit from Custom Energy’s high quality energy awareness training program,” stated Brad Stefanoni, director of partnerships for the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center. “This partnership will help school districts be more energy efficient and save money through Custom Energy’s energy saving techniques.”

Energy awareness training is a behavioral program customized to a district’s particular needs and facilities that focuses on identifying, implementing and reinforcing energy saving behaviors that can help establish lifelong energy saving habits in faculty and students. While the specific concepts range from simple (turning off lights) to more complex activities, it’s the systematic and programmatic replication of those concepts that can often result in a 15% savings or more on a district’s utility bills.

“The choices we make on a daily basis have a significant impact on the amount of energy we use,” stated Terry Divine, energy awareness manager for Custom Energy. “While the specific savings from each action may be small, those tiny increments add up when repeated daily, especially when you multiply them by the over 177,000 students and faculty served by Greenbush.”

Divine, who has over 15 years’ experience in the energy industry (three as the energy manager for the Blue Valley School District), knows first hand how effective these programs can be when implemented properly. “At Blue Valley, we saw a savings of 16% the first year and 24% by the end of the third year. The key to this program is maintaining the savings year after year, which is why an energy manager plays such an important role.”

Every year, public institutions in Kansas avoid over 102 million pounds of harmful greenhouse gas emissions due to programs implemented by Custom Energy, which are designed to save energy and create more sustainable environments for the future. That’s the equivalent of removing more than 10,000 cars from the road or preserving nearly 400 acres of forest from deforestation every year.

About Greenbush

Greenbush operates with the belief that every student, regardless of geographic location, deserves equal educational opportunities. Greenbush offers programs that are otherwise unavailable, unaffordable, or just more effective and efficient through a cooperative effort. By forming consortiums, Greenbush allows districts to pool resources to stretch funding even further, increase purchasing power, and get more bang for the buck. Greenbush forms partnerships with agencies, businesses, and universities to further resources and personnel. More information about Greenbush is located online at www.greenbush.org

About Custom Energy