Washington, D.C. - ABB, sponsor of the Alliance to Save Energy's Earth Apple Awards, presented a team of staff and students from Eisenhower High School in Rialto, CA with a trophy and computer for their energy savings activities at the Smart Design Forum in Washington, DC.

The Earth Apple Awards program was begun by the Alliance to Save Energy in 2000 to acknowledge the energy savings accomplishments of K-12 schools through education and behavior modification activities. ABB is the sole corporate sponsor of the Earth Apple Awards, which are administered in conjunction with the Alliance to Save Energy's Green Schools program.
Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California raised awareness of the need to save energy through web sites and conducting an analysis of energy use in the school. Savings as a result of responsible energy use was an estimated $20,000 from September 2001 to February 2002. "We know we made a difference, and that we don't have to finish school to start being responsible for the environment," said one student who participated in the program.

Elementary and middle school winners were also chosen based upon their scores in the areas of energy efficiency instruction, energy-saving operations and behavior, and school-wide involvement in energy-saving activities. Students and teachers at Clarence Middle School in Clarence, New York began their school year with a blackout and used the real life situation to brainstorm ways to conserve energy in their school. By promoting energy conservation through the use of light switch stickers, publishing conservation tips in the school newsletter and exploring their school for areas of energy waste, students and teachers saved more than $5,000 for the 2001-2002 school year.

In the Philadelphia area Penn Treaty Middle School distributed pamphlets on energy saving tips to community residents while students at Spruance Elementary School held a "solar" tea party, using a solar cooker to prepare tea and bake apples.
"It is interesting to see the creativity used at all levels of education in energy conservation," observed Dawn Fenton, ABB's manager of Sustainability Affairs. "Earth Apple Award winners provide evidence of the benefits to be gained through the Green Schools program. Students are addressing energy conservation, an issue that very well may become a part of their everyday lives in the future."
ABB's sustainability activities have grown from the implementation of ISO 14001 environmental standards in all ABB manufacturing facilities worldwide to the publication of a corporate social policy drawn from a multitude of codes and standards. The company began stakeholder dialogues in all of its major industries and markets to help implement this policy throughout its operations and systems. Other sustainability programs are underway.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impacts. The ABB Group of companies operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 150,000 people. The company's U.S. operations employ more than 14,000 people in manufacturing and other facilities in 40 states.

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