Iona College Getting Greener
In a move that will lessen Iona’s carbon footprint, the College is partnering with a leading energy conservation firm to help reduce consumption of oil, natural gas, water, and electricity on campus.
College Partners with One of Nation’s Leading Energy-Efficiency Experts
Savings Expected to Exceed $2.5 Million, Reduce Energy Consumption 20 percent
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - The Gaels are getting greener.
In a move that will lessen Iona’s carbon footprint, the College is partnering with a leading energy conservation firm to help reduce consumption of oil, natural gas, water, and electricity on campus.
By working with Cenergistic, Dallas-based energy-efficiency experts that partner with school districts, municipalities, universities, and health care facilities across the country, Iona expects to save over $2.5 million in energy costs over the next five years.
“For years, Iona has strived to make our campus a model of sustainability,” said Joseph E. Nyre, Ph.D., Iona College president. “This partnership takes our efforts to a new level, and ensures that we save energy, lower our costs, and foster a climate and appreciation of conservation on campus.”
Here’s how the program works: Cenergistic energy specialists will conduct a comprehensive energy audit across Iona’s 1.2 million square foot campus. The company will then optimize existing HVAC, water, and lighting systems and install cloud-based software that works in real time to ensure that buildings, facilities, and equipment such as computers, labs, and residence halls are running at peak efficiency, and not wasting energy when buildings are unoccupied, such as on holidays and breaks.
Iona expects to reduce its energy consumption by roughly 20 percent when energy specialists from Cenergistic, including a full-time staffer assigned to the Iona campus, work closely with the College’s facilities staff to ensure peak efficiency of all energy-using equipment across every campus building.
“The partnership complements Iona’s ongoing efforts to get greener by the day,” added Carl Procario-Foley, chair of the Iona College Committee on Environmental Sustainability, and pointed out that even the College’s commencement attire is made of 100 percent recycled materials. The College currently recycles its paper and non-toxic cleaners; uses programmable thermostats and eco-efficient bathroom fixtures; and uses LED lighting in its newly-constructed buildings across campus.
For 33 years, Cenergistic has helped over 1,450 Pre-K-12 districts, institutions of higher education, governments, and healthcare facilities find more than $5.4 billion in hidden electricity, natural gas, and water savings by applying advanced software platforms and sustainability-as-a-service solutions on their campuses.
“Superintendents, CFOs, COOs, and board members can reduce energy and water spending by 20-30 percent each year with no capital investment, while improving the comfort and quality of classroom and building environments,” said Cenergistic Vice Chairman, Dr. Randy Hoff. The company has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for 11 consecutive years.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of nearly 4,000 students and an alumni base of more than 50,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona is widely recognized in prestigious rankings, including The Princeton Review’s 2025 national list of “The Best 390 Colleges” and The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse’s “2024 Best Colleges in America,” which ranked Iona at #66 in the nation overall and #8 in the nation among Catholic schools. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just six percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review recognized Iona’s on-campus MBA program as a “Best Business School for 2023.” Iona also offers a fully online MBA program for even greater flexibility. In July 2021, Iona announced the establishment of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, which is now principally located on Iona’s Bronxville campus in collaboration with NewYork-Presbyterian. Connecting to its Irish heritage, the University also recently announced it is expanding abroad with a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.