Kohl’s Awarded Energy Star

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded 50 Energy Star labels to Kohl’s Department Stores Inc. (Menomonee Falls, Wis.).

According to GreenBuildings.com, it’s the largest group of non-supermarket retail buildings to bear the Energy Star label, which rewards commercial buildings and industrial plants for energy efficiency.

Fourteen of the Kohl’s stores are in Illinois, 12 in New York, eight in Minnesota, seven in Colorado, five in Wisconsin and four in Utah. Green measures in these stores include centralized energy management control systems; motion sensor lighting in stockrooms, break rooms and offices; and high-efficiency lighting, heating and cooling systems.

Starting this fall, Kohl’s will pursue certification for all construction of new stores built from the ground up using the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards. The department store chain is also the largest retail host of solar power and its distributed solar program, spanning five states, among the larger programs of its kind in the world. Kohl’s, which became an Energy Star partner in 1998, has received the EPA’s Green Power Leadership Award for being the second-largest retail purchaser of renewable energy.