The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Memorial Hermann Health System for the third consecutive year as a 2015 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year-Sustained Excellence Award recipient for its continued commitment to managing and improving energy efficiency across its network of facilities.

Through its partnership with the ENERGY STAR program, Memorial Hermann is the leader among healthcare organizations nationwide by benchmarking energy use and improving energy performance management. The EPA's ENERGY STAR label is given to hospitals nationwide for their energy performance management, and in 2014, 20 percent of all hospitals awarded the designation belonged to Memorial Hermann.

Memorial Hermann Katy, Memorial Hermann Memorial City, Memorial Hermann Northeast, Memorial Hermann Northwest, Memorial Hermann Southeast, Memorial Hermann Southwest Heart and Vascular Institute, Memorial Hermann Sugar Land and Memorial Hermann the Woodlands, received the ENERGY STAR label in 2014. By outperforming 99 percent of hospitals in the United States these eight facilities are members of an elite class of energy efficient hospitals.

"Strategically managing our energy consumption isn't just good for the environment – it also makes good business sense," said Marshall Heins, Senior Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer at Memorial Hermann. "The benefits of lowering our energy costs allow us to further support our mission to provide greater access to patient care."

Since program inception, Memorial Hermann has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent and has achieved $60 million in energy cost savings. By improving energy management and reducing energy costs, Memorial Hermann is able to commit those savings to further enhancing the quality of patient care and capitalizing on future growth opportunities.

"The key to this success is goal setting and the continued focus and follow up by our facility managers at the various hospitals," said Michael Hatton, Vice President, Facilities Engineering at Memorial Hermann. "This success was achieved by focusing existing maintenance and operational budget resources to tune up building air conditioning and electrical systems as a multi-year performance improvement project across our system. Our engineering teams out in the field are directly responsible for this continuing success."    

"I applaud Memorial Hermann for earning the EPA's highest ENERGY STAR award, the 2015 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

The 2015 Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a variety of organizations to recognize their contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through superior energy efficiency achievements. These winners have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by setting and achieving aggressive goals, and employing innovative energy efficiency approaches. These awards recognize ongoing leadership across the ENERGY STAR program, including energy-efficient products, services, new homes, and buildings in the commercial, industrial, and public sectors.

Memorial Hermann was recently honored in Washington, D.C. with the award.  For a complete list of 2015 winners and information, and more information about ENERGY STAR's awards program, visit www.energystar.gov/awardwinners.