St. Andrew’s has earned the EPA’s Energy Star certification for its physical plant for the sixth time. Energy Star is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency voluntary program that helps businesses and individuals save money and protect our climate through superior energy efficiency. Energy Star certified buildings and plants meet strict energy performance standards set by EPA. They use less energy, are less expensive to operate, and cause fewer greenhouse gas emissions than their peers. 

St. Andrew’s was first recognized as an Energy Star facility in 2009 and was the first Episcopal church to do so and only the thirteenth “House of Worship” in the nation to achieve this status at that time.

“There are many reasons why St Andrew’s got involved in this program: decreasing budgets and increasing utility rates being the obvious ones. Ultimately, though, as a church, we felt we had a special calling by God to be the best stewards possible of the gifts he has so richly bestowed on us,” said Bob Lord, St. Andrew’s parishioner who coordinates the Energy Star effort. “The Energy Star is not an end in itself, but a process and a way to stay the course.”