News that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star program might be on the chopping block sent shockwaves through the agency Tuesday, after a reorganization plan revealed Friday, May 2, showed the program’s parent division removed from an organizational chart, a source with direct knowledge of the situation told [DWM]. The same plan surfaced Monday in a presentation, the source said. The end of Energy Star would coincide with the termination of EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Protection (OAP) and the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, the news agency Reuters reported. News of a reorganization circulated ahead of the meeting, over desires for downsizing, the source told [DWM]. Cutbacks were expected; the disappearance of a decades-long program came as a surprise, they said.
Meanwhile, there is speculation that elected early retirements, as part of cutbacks and restructuring, may help to avoid workforce reductions and that the Energy Star program could be spared via relocation under the Department of Energy (DOE), the source told [DWM]. Such a move would need to be approved by the House Appropriations Committee, but it appears there may be interest on behalf of the DOE, they said.
The possibility for slashing the program marks a second scare for Energy Star officials, as President Donald Trump flirted with the idea amid his first term, before doubling back.
Until further notice, the latest news is only a plan, the source said—one that could face Congressional approval in late May or early June 2025. The presentation shown Monday was mum on any details and there’s been no guidance on what would happen to tax credits, certified product lists, product categories, and product and utility rebates associated with the program. Also at stake are 330,000 entities hosting data in an Energy Star-related portfolio manager—a ranking tool currently used for commercial buildings, the source said.
In addition to the idea of a program move, there is also speculation over the possibility of privatization of the Energy Star program via a sale, the source said—an idea that parallels earlier suggestions by the Trump administration amid its first term. Currently it is unclear how such a plan for privatization would be facilitated.
The Energy Star program was launched in 1992, under President George H.W. Bush, since growing to become “the international standard for energy efficiency and one of the most successful voluntary U.S. government programs in history,” program officials report. The Energy Star program for residential doors and windows was later introduced in March 1998. Participation is voluntary among both manufacturers and consumers, allowing product makers and retailers to display the blue Energy Star label as a marker for energy performance standards. According to program officials, Energy Star has saved consumers more than 5 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity since its inception—totaling more than $500 billion and over 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, according to EPA’s website. By purchasing and using Energy Star-rated products, a typical household can save around $450 on energy bills each year, officials suggest.
In October 2023, Energy Star 7.0 was introduced for door and window products making the program a front-and-center topic for the fenestration industry, as manufacturers strove to develop products meeting the new criteria. With that change, industry experts and program officials told [DWM] they expected the number of certified products in Energy Star’s Product Finder database to drop “significantly,” before slowly rising through first-quarter 2024. Initial reporting indicated otherwise; the total number of registered products in EPA’s Energy Star Product Finder database rose slightly—from 2,184 to 2,207.
Ultimately, the fate of Energy Star is far from determined, the source pointed out, as there are numerous hurdles to face. In the meantime, door and window companies who partner with the program are urged to keep their blue labels in place until the dust settles on a plan. Should the program fall by the wayside, the ripple effect could include $40 billion worth of impacts, the source told [DWM]. The move to relocate Energy Star to the DOE would be relatively simple, they suggested, keeping the famous blue label intact.