Siemens and Springfield, Mass. Work Together to Transform Educational Infrastructure, Improve IAQ for Learning Environments
On Earth Day, the City of Springfield, Massachusetts, celebrated several significant environmental achievements. One of the most recent was through its continued multi-year collaboration with Siemens to improve energy efficiency, sustainability, and resilience of the community’s municipal and educational infrastructure – with an exclusive focus on the city’s K-12 schools.
The $27.8 million improvement project will be supported by a combination of energy savings, grants, and utility rebates, so there is no impact to Springfield taxpayers. The City also applied proactively for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding to improve indoor air quality (IAQ), update key building systems, and improve energy efficiency.
By replacing end-of-life building systems at six schools with new, more energy-efficient HVAC and energy management systems, and addressing deferred maintenance and aging infrastructure, teachers, staff, and students will benefit from improved IAQ, which will have a positive impact on the learning environment. The affected buildings and infrastructure range in age from 30 to more than 100 years old and are in dire need of updating.
“The City of Springfield takes the management of its energy resources and ‘going green’ very seriously,” says Patrick Sullivan, the City’s Executive Director of Parks, Buildings, and Recreation Management. “Investments in our school buildings and municipal facilities are investments in the people who live, work, and learn here in Springfield. Siemens helped us realize the opportunity to make significant and long-lasting improvements that can directly impact the learning environment – without passing the tax burden onto our residents.”
The City has been working with Siemens since 2006 to create a long-term vision. To date, a combination of energy efficiency improvement measures has not only reduced the city’s carbon footprint and utility costs every year, but it has also alleviated millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere annually. In 2020, Sullivan received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lifetime achievement award for his “Going Green” initiatives, which include the energy and infrastructure improvement projects with Siemens.
“The long-term partnership with Siemens to upgrade our public buildings infrastructure is an important component of transforming Springfield. With many improvements already in place, we’re creating quality environments for our students, teachers, and employees in our schools and municipal buildings,” says Mayor of Springfield Domenic Sarno. “When you enhance these environments, there is a domino effect in health benefits across the board. In fact, we have seen about a four percent decrease in asthma in our schools, and test scores continue to rise among our students.”
According to the IAQ Scientific Findings Resource Bank, healthier indoor environments are proven to be associated with lower absenteeism, higher productivity, and better academic performance.
To learn more about Siemens’ IAQ and energy management solutions for K-12 schools and education infrastructure, please visit usa.siemens.com/education.
About Siemens
Siemens Smart Infrastructure (SI) is shaping the market for intelligent, adaptive infrastructure for today and the future. It addresses the pressing challenges of urbanization and climate change by connecting energy systems, buildings and industries. SI provides customers with a comprehensive end-to-end portfolio from a single source – with products, systems, solutions and services from the point of power generation all the way to consumption. With an increasingly digitalized ecosystem, it helps customers thrive and communities progress while contributing toward protecting the planet. With around 70,000 employees worldwide, Siemens Smart Infrastructure has its global headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, and its U.S. corporate headquarters in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, USA.
Siemens Corporation is a U.S. subsidiary of Siemens AG, a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare. From more resource-efficient factories, resilient supply chains, and smarter buildings and grids, to cleaner and more comfortable transportation as well as advanced healthcare, the company creates technology with purpose adding real value for customers. By combining the real and the digital worlds, Siemens empowers its customers to transform their industries and markets, helping them to transform the everyday for billions of people. Siemens also owns a majority stake in the publicly listed company Siemens Healthineers, a globally leading medical technology provider shaping the future of healthcare. In addition, Siemens holds a minority stake in Siemens Energy, a global leader in the transmission and generation of electrical power. In fiscal 2022, which ended on September 30, 2022, Siemens Group USA generated revenue of $18.6 billion and employs approximately 45,000 people serving customers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
