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Five Cambridge Savings Bank Buildings Once Again Get Energy Star Label

Release Date: 11/17/2006
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – Nov. 17, 2006) – Five buildings owned and occupied by the Cambridge Savings Bank were recognized recently with EPA’s 2006 Energy Star Label for superior energy performance.

All five of the offices, including those in Bedford, Lexington, Cambridge, Arlington, and Burlington, have been recognized with the label in past years as well for achieving significant energy savings. Since the labeling program began, eight of the Cambridge Savings Bank’s 13 branches have been recognized with an Energy Star label.

"Cambridge Savings Bank is a national leader in energy efficiency," said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator of the EPA's New England office. "Cambridge is leading by example - showing that energy efficiency is good for business, good for customers and good for the environment."

Energy efficiency improvements included lighting upgrades and adopting other high-efficiency designs for new construction. Managers have trained every employee how to conserve energy. The buildings improved their energy ratings from an average of 65 to 79 (out of a 100) in just four years. During this time, the cost of energy used by Cambridge Savings Bank has been cut by about 22 percent and energy savings exceeded $60,000 per year, for a total of $300,000 since the improvements were made.

In the five years since 2001, electricity usage has decreased by 169,633 kilowatt hours, at the same time the bank added almost 16,500 square feet of floor space. This means an adjusted square foot savings of 309,905 kwh, which is equivalent to 396,678 lbs of carbon dioxide, 5,392 lbs of Methane and 4,927 lbs of NOX.

The five buildings use from 24 to 46 percent less energy than average buildings of their size. Together, that translates into preventing more than 850,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions - the equivalent of taking 85 cars off the road - all while saving Cambridge Savings Bank tens of thousands of dollars in annual energy bills.

The EPA introduced Energy Star in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce air pollution through increased energy efficiency. The program helps businesses and consumers save energy and money while protecting the environment for future generations. In 2004, Energy Star helped Americans save enough energy to power 24 million homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 21 million cars - all while saving consumers and businesses $10 billion.

The Energy Star label is awarded to buildings through a performance rating system that ranks building energy performance on a one to 100 scale based on energy usage per square foot, normalized for weather, climate, occupancy and other factors. Buildings scoring 75 or higher that meet standards for indoor air quality, lighting, ventilation and thermal comfort are eligible for the label.

Cambridge Savings Bank, an Energy Star member since 2004, was also recognized by the EPA in 2005 for improving energy efficiency of all of its 13 bank branch and office buildings by some 20 percent.

As one of the businesses nationwide recognized in the Energy Star challenge, the bank either achieved and documented a 10 percent or greater improvement across all the buildings within their organization, or earned an exemplary average rating across all of their buildings. EPA's national building energy performance rating system has been available since 1999, and more than 20,000 buildings have been rated.

During the spring of 2005, EPA announced the Energy Star Commercial Building Challenge, encouraging building owners and managers to make their buildings more efficient. Commercial and institutional buildings use about $80 billion worth of energy each year and contribute about 20 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. EPA estimates that if each building owner met the challenge, the annual energy savings would be $10 billion.

Energy Star is a government-backed program helping businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. More information on Energy Star’s labeling program, its challenge or the achievements of Cambridge Savings Bank is available at: http://www.energystar.gov/.

The following bank buildings were recognized in the past three years:
· Arlington Center Banking Center at 626 Massachusetts Ave (2005, 2006)
· Arlington Heights Banking Center at 1300 Massachusetts Ave (2004, 2005)
· Bedford Banking Center at 160 Great Rd (2004, 2005, 2006)
· Burlington Banking Center at 214 Cambridge St (2004, 2005, 2006)
· Cambridge Savings Bank at 1374 Massachusetts Avenue (2003, 2004, 2005)
· Cambridge Savings Bank Main Office at 19 Dunster St in Cambridge (2003, 2004, 2006)
· Inman Square Banking Center at 1374 Cambridge St in Cambridge (2004)
· Lexington Banking Center at 1781 Massachusetts Ave (2004, 2005, 2006)

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