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HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Aug 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) has again been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) ENERGY STAR National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings, which is designed to help improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings and protect the environment.In the spirit of popular weight-loss competitions, Sears Holdings has entered fifty-six facilities which will battle it out against thousands of other teams representing buildings across the country. All efforts will be focused on eliminating waste through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA's ENERGY STAR program.

"Sears Holdings is honored to be a part of the EPA's ENERGY STAR National Building Competition for the third consecutive year," said Rajan Penkar, senior vice president and president, Supply Chain. "This year, we are dramatically increasing the number of facilities which we have entered into the competition and are looking to take our energy management program to the next level. We have realized significant savings as a result of our previous entries into the Battle of the Buildings contest and in fact in 2010, Sears #1013 in Glen Burnie, MD finished in second place with an astounding 31% energy reduction and in 2011, Sears Grand #1822 in Cape Girardeau, MO reduced energy consumption by 20%.We look forward to another year of tight competition and watching our energy use and greenhouse gas emissions drop as a result." 

The teams in the 2012 ENERGY STAR National Building Competition represent more than 30 different types of commercial buildings — such as retail stores, schools, hotels, and museums — and hail from all 50 states, two U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. The competitors range from a Kmart store on the island of St. Thomas and a crime lab in Phoenix, to a Federal office building in Nome, Alaska.

The EPA will maintain a website devoted to the competition, energystar.gov/BattleOfTheBuildings, featuring a list the competitors and their "weigh-in" results, a live Twitter feed where competitors will post updates on their progress, and a user-generated photo stream where competitors will upload pictures of their energy-saving efforts.

"Thousands of buildings across the country are going on energy diets with help from EPA and ENERGY STAR," said Jean Lupinacci, Director of EPA's ENERGY STAR Commercial Buildings Program. "Organizations like those competing in this year's National Building Competition are taking a bold step by putting themselves in the spotlight as they compete to protect the environment and save as much energy as possible."

Competitors will measure and track their building's monthly energy consumption using EPA's ENERGY STAR online tracking tool, ; make improvements to their building's energy performance; and share their progress. Of the initial pool of nearly 3,300 competitors, the building that demonstrates the greatest percentage-based reduction in energy use intensity will be recognized as the winner in April 2013.

According to EPA, energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and energy use at a cost of more than $100 billion per year. On average, 30% of the energy used in commercial buildings is wasted. Thousands of businesses and organizations work with the EPA's ENERGY STAR program and are saving billions of dollars and preventing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering our atmosphere each year.  In fact, the Kmart Corporation recently achieved ENERGY STAR Leaders recognition for exceeding the 10% energy reduction threshold for our portfolio of buildings. Since January 2008, Kmart has reduced energy consumed in our buildings by 11.4%. This equates to a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 176,046 MtCO2e/year. Kmart has achieved this accomplishment through store lighting retrofits at over 860 facilities, the use of building energy management systems, and sound energy disciplines. 

Watch the battle unfold:

For more information on Sears Holdings' environmental sustainability initiatives, visit or follow us on Twitter @EnviroSears.

About Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation is a leading integrated retailer with over 3,900 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada and the home of ShopYourWay, a social shopping experience where members have the ability to earn points and receive benefits across a wide variety of physical and digital formats through ShopYourWay.com.  Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, fitness equipment and automotive repair and maintenance.  Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, with a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, the Kardashian Kollection, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as Sofia by Sofia Vergara and The Country Living Home Collection.   We are the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 15 million service and installation calls made annually and have a long-established commitment to those who serve in the military through initiatives like the Heroes at Home program. We have been named the 2011 Mobile Retailer of the Year, Recipient of the 2012 ENERGY STAR® "Corporate Commitment Award" for Product Retailing and Energy Management and one of the Top 20 Best Places to Work for Recent Grads.  Sears Holdings Corporation operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation.  For more information, visit Sears Holdings' website at . Twitter: @searsholdings | |Facebook:

CONTACT:
Kimberly Freely
Media Relations
847-286-6093

SOURCE Sears Holdings Corporation