(WIBW) - Two Kansas school districts are getting noticed for their environmental efforts.

Unified School District 204 of Bonner Springs-Edwardsville and the Arkansas City Public Schools were named Energy Star Leaders by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Bonner Springs-Edwardsville also was designated as a “top performer.”

Both schools lowered their energy consumption by more than 21 percent during 2009.

Energy Star Leaders are chosen for meeting one of two energy efficiency improvement milestones: a 10 percent energy reduction across the entire building portfolio, or the buildings in an organization’s portfolio, on average, perform in the top 25 percent of similar buildings nationwide.

Fifty-eight organizations were recognized for at least one of these milestones in 2009, more than double the number that qualified in 2008. More than 75 percent of Energy Star Leaders in 2009 met the top performer milestone, more than in any other year. The list of 2009 Energy Star Leaders is dominated by 54 school districts, many of which are located in the nation’s Midwest region.

The complete list of Energy Star Leaders has grown to more than 100 organizations since 2004, including school districts, commercial real estate companies, healthcare systems, supermarket operators and hotel managers.

Energy Star Leaders represent more than 5,600 buildings covering nearly 390 million square feet across 32 states and the District of Columbia.

In 2009, EPA’s Energy Star Leaders prevented the equivalent of more than 220,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and saved more than $48 million across their commercial building portfolios. These savings have quadrupled since 2008 and represent the single greatest year of savings since EPA recognized the first Energy Star Leaders in 2004. Over the past five years, Energy Star Leaders are saving money and helping our environment by preventing greenhouse gas emissions equal to the emissions from the electricity use of nearly 39,000 homes annually.