ENERGY STAR is a voluntary Federal government backed program that sets standards for superior energy efficiency in buildings, products, and services. The ENERGY STAR Challenge, launched by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March 2005, calls for an energy efficiency improvement of 10 percent or more for the more than 5 million commercial and industrial buildings in the United States. EPA estimates that if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings in the U.S. improved 10 percent, Americans would reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to those from about 30 million vehicles while saving about $20 billion. Gould Evans and Hahn Engineering, ENERGY STAR Partners, have made a commitment to strive for reducing energy use and increasing efficiency in the work they do.

Gould Evans submitted the design of Tinker Elementary School to meet the EPA's "Energy Star Challenge for Architects" to improve energy performance of new buildings by at least 10 percent. Tinker's design met the criteria for design intent, the first stage of the ENERGY STAR process. Once the building has been occupied and its energy performance documented for at least 12 months, a licensed professional engineer can sign and seal a Statement of Energy Performance. Upon confirmation that Tinker's energy use meets the design criteria, the school will be awarded a bronze plaque designating it as an ENERGY STAR building.