Jun 29 2015
Energy Focus, Inc., a leader in LED lighting technologies, today announced it has formed a partnership with the Center for Green Schools (Center) at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to advance the mission of providing green schools for all students within this generation.
As the exclusive partner in the tubular LED (TLED) category of USGBC's Green Apple initiative, Energy Focus will support the Center's work to create healthy, safe, and efficient learning environments.
Green Apple is a movement to put all children in schools where they have clean and healthy air to breathe, where energy and resources are conserved and where children can be inspired to dream of a brighter future. Through the Green Apple partnership, Energy Focus will help educate about the importance of LED lighting in sustainable buildings, environmental stewardship, and human health enhancement.
As a Green Apple partner, Energy Focus will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each of its commercial TLED lamps, which will carry the USGBC and Green Apple marks, to the Center for Green Schools' programs. Energy Focus' TLED lamps offer schools a much lower carbon footprint and scotopically enhanced lighting while removing hazardous materials such as mercury when compared with fluorescent lights.
"We are extremely excited to have been selected as the exclusive tubular LED partner for Green Apple at USGBC," said Eric Hilliard, President and Chief Operating Officer of Energy Focus, Inc. "This partnership allows us to offer the K-12 schools in the United States an educational platform to learn about tubular LED lighting technology and solutions for their educational and operational needs. The science behind our products indicates that beyond just the economic benefits LEDs offer, our lighting provides important 'green' benefits to the long-term welfare of our planet and better overall health to each student in our country's schools."
"Energy Focus is honored and pleased to join forces with the USGBC and its Center for Green Schools to expedite the LED adoption in the nation's schools," said James Tu, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Focus. "Numerous studies have shown that blue light, which fluorescent lights emit copiously, causes retinal degeneration, and children are particularly susceptible to such damage due to incomplete growth of yellow cells that protect the retinas. The results are less than optimal student health and learning. In contrast, Energy Focus LED tubes produce a much smoother, more natural spectrum and flicker-free light. Therefore, our LED lighting not only reduces lighting energy consumption, but could also improve student wellbeing in schools. Together with USGBC, we can now enlighten the schools' environment for better sustainability, better health and better learning in the most timely fashion."
Rachel Gutter, USGBC's Senior Vice President of Knowledge and the Director of the Center for Green Schools remarks, "We are proud to welcome Energy Focus as our latest Green Apple partner. Like the Center for Green Schools, Energy Focus understands that where our children learn matters. We very much look forward to working together to transform our schools into healthy, efficient, and productive learning environments."