TWENTY YEARS OF SAVING MONEY AND PROTECTING OUR CLIMATE

Climate change continues to be one of the nation’s most important environmental challenges, and improving energy efficiency is 

one of the easiest, fastest, and most cost-effective solutions. For the past 20 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

has effectively captured and channeled the ingenuity of the marketplace through ENERGY STAR, a voluntary energy-efficiency 

program.

Since 1992, EPA has partnered with organizations throughout America to implement practical, proven, cost-effective solutions 

for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with outstanding environmental and financial success. Through cutting-edge 

investments in energy-efficient technologies and practices, the ENERGY STAR program contributes to important health and 

environmental benefits by addressing the challenges of climate change while strengthening our economy.

EPA will continue to dismantle barriers to widespread energy efficiency through ENERGY STAR by serving as a trusted source of 

unbiased information that helps consumers and businesses make choices that are good for the environment and the economy. This 

document provides a brief overview of key ENERGY STAR achievements in 2012. 

RESULTS FOR 2012 

In 2012, 18,000 organizations partnered with EPA, improved efficiency, and realized significant environmental and financial 

benefits. They help protect the climate while making energy efficiency accessible to their customers, the public, and their own 

organizations. These committed partners and individuals across the country have tapped the value of ENERGY STAR to achieve 

dramatic energy savings while cumulatively preventing more than 1.8 billion metric tons of GHG emissions (see Fig 1)1 and saving 

over $230 billion on utility bills.

By partnering with ENERGY STAR, consumers and businesses also reduced their utility bills by $24 billion, due to investments in 

energy-efficient technologies and practices that will continue to provide bill savings for years to come. In 2012 alone, Americans, 

with the help of ENERGY STAR, prevented 242 million metric tons of GHG emissions2 —providing over $5.8 billion in benefits to 

society due to reducing damages from climate change.3

Fig. 1. ENERGY STAR Program Benefits Have Nearly Tripled in its Last Decade

1 ENERGY STAR program cost/benefit calculations began in 1993.

2 All reductions in annual GHG emissions are reported in million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2

e).

3 Societal benefits are based on the social cost of carbon which monetizes the damages associated with an incremental increase in carbon emissions in a given year, 

including (but is not limited to) changes in net agricultural productivity, human health, property damages from increased flood risk, and the value of ecosystem services. 

Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon. 2010. Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis under Executive Order 12866. February. United States 

Government. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/inforeg/for-agencies/Social-Cost-of-Carbon-for-RIA.pdf

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

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250

500

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2,000

2,250

2,500

(Billion kWh)

Energy Savings

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

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200

400

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GHG Emissions Savings

(MMTCO2e)
ENERGY STAR FOR PRODUCTS 

As the national symbol for energy efficiency, ENERGY STAR 

makes it easy for consumers and businesses to purchase 

products that save them money and protect the environment. 

EPA remains focused on maintaining program integrity, while 

expanding ENERGY STAR’s role as a trusted resource for 

Americans in the fight against climate change. 

Certified Products. Americans purchased about 300 million 

ENERGY STAR certified products in 2012 across more than 

65 product categories for a cumulative total of more than 

4.5 billion products since 1993 (see Fig. 2). Today, 85% of the 

American public recognizes the ENERGY STAR label. Global 

support for the program remains strong, as exemplified by 

the signing of a 5-year renewal of the ENERGY STAR Office 

Equipment agreement with the European Union.

ENERGY STAR Most Efficient 2012. By the end of the year, as 

this initiative became a permanent part of the program, more 

than 1,400 models from over 50 manufacturers were recognized 

as the “best of the best” in energy efficiency. Categories 

included televisions, computer monitors, clothes washers, 

refrigerators, and heating and cooling equipment. 

ENERGY STAR Product Specifications. EPA updated 

performance requirements for televisions, displays, audio/

video equipment, room air conditioners, residential water 

heaters, and vending machines as well as commercial clothes 

washers, ice machines, and dishwashers. ENERGY STAR added 

requirements for uninterruptible power supplies.

Third-Party Certification for ENERGY STAR Products. All products 

that earn the ENERGY STAR are subject to strict testing and 

certification requirements before they can carry the label. By 

year’s end, EPA certified over 40,000 products. Verification testing 

administered by EPA-recognized certification bodies is also in 

process for all product categories. In 2012, EPA disqualified 87 

models based on the results of this post-market testing. The 

program’s emphasis on testing and third-party product review 

ensures that consumers can trust ENERGY STAR certified 

products to deliver the energy savings promised by the label. 

Fig. 2. More than 4.5 Billion ENERGY STAR Certified Products 

Purchased Since 1993

*Lighting category does not include purchases of light bulbs.

Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR Campaign. At 

the end of the 2012 campaign, more than 3.5 million people had 

taken the ENERGY STAR Pledge, committing to make energyefficient changes at home. Through EPA’s new youth outreach 

effort, Team ENERGY STAR, kids across the country helped 

their families save energy. This effort integrated elements from 

Universal’s Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax movie and asked people to 

share an energy-saving success story. More than 10,000 young 

people participated, including those from 150 Boys & Girls 

Clubs of America. In October, ENERGY STAR Day celebrated 

the collective achievements of both families and organizations 

in changing the world with ENERGY STAR. These initiatives, 

along with thousands of partner-led ENERGY STARs Across 

America events, represent a vital and growing national 

movement to protect the climate.

ENERGY STAR FOR HOMES 

Through ENERGY STAR, EPA works to increase the energy 

efficiency of the nation’s new and existing housing stock 

to cost-effectively reduce GHG emissions, while lowering 

Americans’ utility bills and improving the comfort of their 

homes. 

Transition to New Requirements for ENERGY STAR Certified 

Homes. In 2012, EPA completed the transition to new, more 

rigorous requirements for homes to earn the ENERGY STAR 

label. Homes certified under the new requirements are at least 

15% more efficient than those built to the 2009 International 

Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and include additional 

energy-saving features to deliver a performance advantage of 

up to 30% compared to typical new homes. More than 100,000 

new homes earned the ENERGY STAR in 2012, bringing the 

total number of certified homes to more than 1.4 million (see 

Fig. 3). Since EPA began labeling new homes in 1995, American 

homeowners have saved more than $4 billion on their energy 

bills and reduced GHG emissions by more than 39 billion 

pounds. In 2012 alone, families living in ENERGY STAR certified 

homes saved $527 million on their utility bills. 

ENERGY STAR for New Multifamily High-Rise Buildings. Since 

multifamily high-rise buildings first became eligible to earn the 

ENERGY STAR label, 40 buildings containing more than 3,800 

individual units have been certified. These high-rise buildings 

must meet EPA’s energy efficiency guidelines and be designed 

to be at least 15% more efficient than the building energy code. 

In 2012, 16 buildings containing over 900 multifamily high-rise 

units were certified. 

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR. In 2012, an estimated 

75,000 homes were improved through the whole house retrofit 

program, Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES). 

This work was performed by 50 locally sponsored programs, 

including 5 new programs launched in 2012, and more than 

1,900 participating contractors across the nation. Since the 

program’s inception, more than 250,000 homes have been 

improved through HPwES. The HPwES program is administered 

by the U.S. Department of Energy, with support from EPA.

1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Units Purchased (Billions)

Office Equipment Home Office Equipment Home Electronics

Lighting * Appliances HVAC and Other
Fig. 3. More than 1.4 Million Homes Nationwide Have Earned 

the ENERGY STAR Label

Energy Efficiency Guidance and Tools for Homeowners. This 

year, 1.3 million Americans visited the ENERGY STAR website to 

find information about home efficiency improvements, and use 

the Home Energy Yardstick and Home Energy Advisor to assess 

their homes’ energy use and get recommendations to help 

reduce utility bills and improve comfort. In 2012, EPA began a 

project to enhance the Home Energy Yardstick to incorporate 

“Green Button” functionality, which will enable quicker and 

more accurate input of a consumer’s utility data into the tool, 

making it easier to receive a home’s score. 

Affordable Housing. In fiscal year 2012, more than 8,500 

ENERGY STAR certified homes were built within the affordable 

housing sector using funding from the U.S. Department of 

Housing and Urban Development. In addition, more than 320 

Habitat for Humanity affiliates nationwide built more than 1,700 

ENERGY STAR certified homes for low-income families.

ENERGY STAR FOR BUSINESS 

ENERGY STAR partners continue to demonstrate solutions 

that deliver significant GHG emissions reductions through 

energy efficiency. Year after year, these organizations are 

leading examples of how to implement successful strategies, 

technologies, and practices to increase the efficiency of U.S. 

buildings and plants based on EPA’s proven ENERGY STAR 

framework, posting significant results for the environment and 

their bottom line.

Benchmarking Shows Big Savings. Unveiling the largest 

U.S. building energy benchmarking data analysis to date, EPA 

examined over 35,000 buildings that consistently used the 

ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager measurement tool from 2008 

to 2011. The buildings showed an average of 7% energy savings 

and 6% GHG emissions reductions over three years—with the 

buildings that were initially the lowest performers making the 

greatest improvements. In addition to this analysis, EPA released 

a series of ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Data Trends in 2012 

(see Fig. 4). 

ENERGY STAR Certification for Top Performance. By the end 

of 2012, more than 8,200 buildings and plants became ENERGY 

STAR certified, for a total of more than 20,000 facilities. 

ENERGY STAR buildings emit 35% fewer GHG emissions and 

use 35% less energy than average buildings. 

Significant Portfolio-Wide Savings. More than 270 leading 

companies and school districts have been recognized as 

ENERGY STAR Leaders for portfolio-wide energy savings, 

a 30% growth. Some organizations earned recognition 

for reducing energy use up to 60%. Energy management 

strategies—such as executive commitment; active 

involvement of staff, tenants, or students; and investment in 

new technologies—were integral to their success.

Biggest National Building Competition Yet. At the midpoint 

weigh-in of EPA’s 2012 ENERGY STAR Battle of the Buildings, an 

elementary school in New Jersey was the leading competitor 

with a 47% reduction in energy use intensity. In the first six 

months of the competition alone, teams representing more 

than 3,200 buildings around the country had saved more than 

$37 million on utility bills and reduced GHG emissions equal to 

those emitted by the annual electricity use of more than 16,000 

homes. Final results will be released in April 2013.

New Levels of Industrial Efficiency. Nearly a decade of energy 

efficiency work with the wet corn milling industry enabled EPA 

to re-benchmark the industry’s energy performance, revealing 

improvements in energy efficiency across the sector, including 

an annual energy use reduction of 6.7 trillion British thermal 

units (Btu), representing a 4.3% improvement. In 2012, EPA 

expanded the use of ENERGY STAR tools in the integrated paper, 

metalcasting, printing, and dairy industries. A record number 

of industrial sites committed to the ENERGY STAR Challenge 

for Industry, and 75 met or exceeded their targets in 2012 by 

achieving a 10% reduction in energy intensity, saving 14.7 trillion 

Btu in energy. 

Fig. 4. Steady Growth in Building Space Benchmarked

*The decrease in the number of homes certified reflects the overall decrease in the total 

number of homes built.

Cumulative square footage represents the unique building floor space benchmarked in 

Portfolio Manager. Building space benchmarked over multiple years is only counted 

once in the cumulative total.

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0.0

Buildings Square Footage (Billions)

Cumulative Annual

20001999

Number of Homes 

Cumulative Homes Built Annual Homes Built
All values and figures for 2012 are preliminary as of March 1, 2013. Source for all figures: EPA Climate Protection Partnerships Division.

For more information, visit www.energystar.gov

Partner of the Year - 

Sustained Excellence

3M Company

St. Paul, MN

AEP Texas Central

Corpus Christi, TX

Andersen Corporation

Bayport, MN

APS (Arizona Public Service)

Phoenix, AZ

ArcelorMittal USA

Chicago, IL

Austin Energy

Austin, TX

Bentall Kennedy

Toronto, ON

Bosch Home Appliances 

Corporation

Irvine, CA

Building Owners and Managers 

Association (BOMA) 

International

Washington, DC

CalPortland Company

Glendora, CA

CBRE, Inc.

Los Angeles, CA

Cenergistic 

Dallas, TX

CenterPoint Energy

Houston, TX

Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland, OH

Colgate-Palmolive Company

New York, NY

ComEd

Chicago, IL

Constellation Energy/Baltimore 

Gas and Electric Company 

(BGE)

Baltimore, MD

Ecova

Spokane, WA

Energy Inspectors Corporation

Las Vegas, NV

EnergyCAP, Inc.

State College, PA

EnergyLogic

Berthoud, CO

Evergreen Public Schools

Vancouver, WA

Focus on Energy

Madison, WI

Food Lion, Bottom Dollar Food, 

Harveys and Reid’s

Salisbury, NC

GE Lighting

Fairfield, CT

General Motors

Detroit, MI

Gresham-Barlow School District

Gresham, OR

Habitat for Humanity of Greater 

Nashville

Nashville, TN

Habitat for Humanity of Metro 

Denver

Denver, CO

Hanesbrands Inc.

Winston Salem, NC

HEI Hotels & Resorts

Norwalk, CT

Hines

Houston, TX

ITW Food Equipment Group

Troy, OH

Ivey Residential, LLC

Evans, GA

J. C. Penney Company, Inc.

Plano, TX

Jones Lang LaSalle

Chicago, IL

KB Home

Los Angeles, CA

Kohls Department Stores, Inc.

Menomonee Falls, WI

KPPC - Kentucky Pollution 

Prevention Center

Louisville, KY

LG&E and KU

Louisville, KY

Long Island Power Authority 

(LIPA)

Uniondale, NY

Loudoun County Public Schools

Ashburn, VA

Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

Mooresville, NC

Manitowoc Foodservice

New Port Richey, FL

Merck

Whitehouse Station, NJ

Meritage Homes

Scottsdale, AZ

New Jersey Board of Public 

Utilities

Trenton, NJ

New York State Energy 

Research and Development 

Authority (NYSERDA)

Albany, NY

New York-Presbyterian Hospital

New York, NY

Nissan North America, Inc.

Franklin, TN

Northeast Energy Efficiency 

Partnerships, Inc. (NEEP)

Lexington, MA

Northwest Energy Efficiency 

Alliance (NEEA)

Portland, OR

Pacific Gas and Electric 

Company

San Francisco, CA

Panasonic Eco Solutions North 

America

Secaucus, NJ

PepsiCo, Inc.

Purchase, NY

Public Service Company of 

Oklahoma (PSO)

Tulsa, OK

Raytheon Company

Waltham, MA

Saint-Gobain

Valley Forge, PA

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Suwon, South Korea

Sears Holdings Corporation

Hoffman Estates, IL

Servidyne

Atlanta, GA

Southern California Edison

Rosemead, CA

Southern Energy Management

Morrisville, NC

Staples, Inc.

Framingham, MA

The Boeing Company

Chicago, IL

The E Group, a Division of 

FirstEnergy Solutions Corp.

Akron, OH

TIAA-CREF

New York, NY

Toyota Motor Engineering & 

Manufacturing North America, 

Inc.

Erlanger, KY

TRANSWESTERN

Houston, TX

USAA Real Estate Company

San Antonio, TX

Partner of the Year

AEP Ohio

Columbus, OH

Air Force Medical Support 

Agency - Health Facilities 

Division

San Antonio, TX

Air King, Ltd.

West Chester, PA

Allergan, Inc.

Irvine, CA

AVR Homebuilders

Yonkers, NY

Beacon Capital Partners, LLC

Boston, MA

Brandywine Realty Trust

Radnor, PA

Burton Energy Group

Alpharetta, GA

Cassidy Turley

Washington, DC

Columbia Gas of Ohio

Columbus, OH

Des Moines Public Schools

Des Moines, IA

DIRECTV

El Segundo, CA

Dominion East Ohio

Richmond, VA

Eastman Chemical Company

Kingsport, TN

El Paso Electric

El Paso, TX

Energy Services Group

New Castle, DE

Entergy Texas

Beaumont, TX

Fanning/Howey Associates, 

Inc.

Celina, OH

Grayhawk Homes, Inc.

Columbus, GA

Hoshizaki America, Inc.

Peachtree City, GA

Kenton County School District

Ft. Wright, KY

LG Electronics, Inc.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Liberty Property Trust

Malvern, PA

Memorial Hermann Healthcare 

System

Houston, TX

Nationwide Marketing Group

Winston Salem, NC

New Hampshire CORE Utilities

Manchester, NH

North Penn School District

Lansdale, PA

PECO Energy Company

Philadelphia, PA

Pella Corporation

Pella, IA

Philips Lighting Company

Somerset, NJ

ProVia

Sugarcreek, OH

Scotsman Ice Systems

Vernon Hills, IL

Scott County Schools

Georgetown, KY

Sharp Electronics Corporation

Mahwah, NJ

Southern Maryland Electric 

Cooperative (SMECO)

Hughesville, MD

Technical Consumer Products, 

Inc. (TCP)

Aurora, OH

The Connecticut Energy 

Efficiency Fund with UI and 

CL&P

Orange, CT

The Home Depot

Atlanta, GA

Verizon Wireless

Basking Ridge, NJ

Vornado Realty Trust

New York, NY

Wells Real Estate Funds

Norcross, GA

Awards for

Excellence

ENERGY STAR Promotion

Amerlux

Fairfield, NJ

FSL Home Energy Solutions

Phoenix, AZ

National Grid

Waltham, MA

South Carolina Electric & Gas 

Company 

Cayce, SC

Affordable Housing

Milford Housing Development 

Corporation

Milford, DE

Energy-Efficient Product Design

Cree, Inc.

Durham, NC

Retailing

Metro Lighting

Brentwood, MO