Arlington Public Schools Honored As 2023 Climate Leader By Mass Save

ARLINGTON, MA — Arlington Public Schools has been named a 2023 Climate Leader by the sponsors of Mass Save.

The school district was one of 14 recipients of the honor earlier this month. The award recognizes entities from various industries — education, grocery, healthcare, hospitality, municipalities and more — that are leading the fight against climate change across Massachusetts.

The honorees, according to Mass Save, displayed a long-term energy efficiency commitment and dedication by leveraging the support and incentives offered by the Mass Save program.

According to its website, Mass Save is a collaborative of Massachusetts' electric and natural gas utilities and energy efficiency service providers — including Berkshire Gas, Cape Light Compact, Eversource, Liberty, National Grid, and Unitil — that empowers residents, businesses and communities to make energy efficient upgrades by offering a wide range of services, rebates, incentives, trainings and information.

District officials said APS completed multiple projects that helped it earn the Mass Save honor.

One project was the renovation of Gibbs Middle School, which resulted in 21 percent overall energy savings.

Additionally, APS created 45.6 percent site energy savings with an Arlington High School Accelerated Program, which was an all-electric project and improvement similar to Gibbs Middle School.

"We are proud to live and work in the Commonwealth where we have a number of leaders to show us the pathway through decarbonization to a net zero future," said Tilak Subrahmanian, vice president of Energy Efficiency and Electric Mobility at Eversource, in a release recognizing the 2023 Climate Leaders.

Subrahmanian continued: "The sponsors of Mass Save continue to see the strong efforts from this year's recipients and their dedication to honoring their own climate goals. We commend them as leaders and will continue to support them on their path to a decarbonized future."

According to Mass Save, the current group of climate leaders, in addition to those previously honored, have helped to save tens of millions of kilowatt-hours (kWh) over the past five to 10 years.

"The 2023 Climate Leaders recognize the importance of battling the climate crisis, having each taken crucial steps towards creating a sustainable future through energy-efficient measures," said Christopher Porter, director of Customer Energy Management at National Grid.

Porter continued: "These organizations and municipalities put on display that entities conscious of the environment are a successful model for the Commonwealth's economy and climate future. We appreciate the recipients' efforts in this fight and look forward to continued collaboration with all our partners to achieve Massachusetts' net-zero goals."

The list of 2023 Mass Save Climate Leaders:

Arlington Public Schools
Berkshire East Mountain Resort
Boston University
City of Lowell
Franklin County House of Corrections
Harbor View Hotel
Liberty Mutual
Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School
New England Authentic Eats LLC
Northeastern University
Shaw's Supermarkets
State Street Corporation
Takeda Pharmaceutical Company
Thermo Fisher Scientific