EPA Recognizes USAA Real Estate Company With Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award
March 16, 2005 - San Antonio, TX
USAA Real Estate Company earns award for protecting the environment through energy efficiency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized USAA Real Estate Company with the ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award for its outstanding and continued leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions through superior energy management. USAA Real Estate Company's accomplishments were recognized on Tuesday, March 15th at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.
This was the third consecutive year that USAA Real Estate Company has been honored for its longtime commitment to smart energy management practices and investments. The company was one of only two commercial real estate companies in the country recognized this year.
Across the U.S., top companies and organizations are discovering the value of strategic energy management through participation in ENERGY STAR. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved about $10 billion on their energy bills while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 20 million cars.
"As a for-profit organization, we will never lose perspective about the financial benefits that USAA Real Estate Company has achieved through a committed energy strategy and partnership with Energy Star." said Edward B. Kelley, President and CEO of USAA Real Estate Company. "As an ENERGY STAR partner, we can and have improved our ability to assess performance in terms of tenant and employee comfort, energy consumption, asset value and the positive impacts to the environment."
The Sustained Excellence Award is given to a variety of organizations to recognize their ongoing leadership in using energy efficiently in operations and integrating energy efficiency into overall organizational strategy. These Award winners are selected from thousands of organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.
"As a winner of EPA's ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award, USAA Real Estate Company has demonstrated leadership in protecting the environment through energy efficiency year after year," said Kathleen Hogan, director of EPA's Climate Protection Partnerships Division. "This unique group of winners demonstrate that managing your energy use well, and making it a core part of your business strategy, can yield important environmental benefits for all of us."
USAA Real Estate Co. has more than $3.5 billion of assets under management and provides acquisition, build-to-suit and development services for corporate and institutional investors. The USAA portfolio consists of office, industrial and hotel properties as well as investments in real estate operating companies. USAA Real Estate is a subsidiary of USAA, which has been serving military families since 1922 and has become one of America's leading financial services companies. The association, well known for its exceptional service, offers its 5.4 million members a comprehensive range of insurance, banking and investment products and services designed to help them meet their financial needs. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, with offices throughout the United States and Europe, USAA owns or manages assets of more than $83 billion.
ENERGY STAR was introduced by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce air pollution through increased energy efficiency. The program offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 7,000 organizations have become ENERGY STAR partners and are committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).