The Beaufort County School District has joined a federal partnership aimed at improving energy efficiency and environmental protection.

The Energy Star Challenge, coordinated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, calls for improving energy efficiency by at least 10 percent for the more than 5 million commercial and industrial buildings in the United States.

“The school district has already made great strides in reducing energy and water consumption,” said Acting Superintendent Jackie Rosswurm. “Becoming more efficient has meant considerable financial savings and has also reduced the ‘carbon footprint’ of our school buildings.”

Participating in Energy Star will provide tools and resources for the school district to use in identifying additional areas for improving energy efficiency.  Robert Oetting, the district’s Facilities Planning and Construction Officer, said a key benefit will be access to data that will let Beaufort County schools compare their energy usage to other schools across the nation.