The ENERGY STAR® program has been a tremendous success in its first decade. Established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 for energy- efficient computers, the ENERGY STAR program has grown to encompass more than 35 product categories for the home and workplace, new homes, and superior energy management within organizations. Some highlights demonstrating the impact of this program are:I Thousands of organizations have partnered with the federal government to demonstrate a commitment to protecting the environment through energy efficiency. Americans have purchased more than 1 billion ENERGY STAR qualified products. More than 100,000 families live in new homes that have earned the ENERGY STAR. More than 40 percent of the American public recognizes the ENERGY STAR. Thousands of buildings have undergone effective energy improvement projects. More than 15,000 of the nation’s buildings have been rated using EPA’s national energy performance rating system. More than 1,100 buildings have earned the ENERGY STAR label for superior energy performance. Further, because using energy more efficiently avoids emissions from power plants, avoids the need for new power plants, and reduces energy bills, sizable national benefits have accrued. In 2002, with the help of the ENERGY STAR program, Americans prevented greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 14 million vehicles and avoided using the power that 50 300-megawatt (MW) power plants would have produced, while saving more than $7 billion.II With this success come questions about the future of the ENERGY STAR program, such as: What is necessary to build and maintain the ENERGY STAR program over the next decade? Have the most easily obtained benefits already been realized and will taxpayers receive a similar environmental and economic return on their investment over the next 10 years as they did in the first?…

Download ENERGY STAR®— THE POWER TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH ENERGY EFFICIENCY.Pdf