Top-Tier Proposal Won’t Undermine Energy Star, Says EPA Official

The top-tier Super Star program proposed by the EPA would neither undermine the Energy Star brand nor confuse consumers, Energy Star Program Manager Maria Vargas said, citing research by the agency. Those were among the principal concerns raised by the CE industry about the agency’s proposal to debut a program that identifies the most efficient Energy Star products. The top-tier program will initially target TVs, clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators, central air conditioners and heating equipment.

The agency has proposed that for a covered product category including a super-efficient product or products, the “associated performance level” would be designated as the threshold for Super Star recognition for a given period. On a stakeholder conference call, Vargas said the agency is proposing a “real-time listing” of top-tier products on the Energy Star website. “That would be the place that consumer would come and find the information.” In addition, the agency would make available to utilities and energy efficiency program sponsors “point-of-purchase materials that reinforce” the top-tier offerings and “communicate very clearly what is being identified as an energy efficient product."

Vargas sought to allay industry concerns about the agency’s proposal to update the program at the start of every year. The agency suggested a January rollout for the new program. January is a “bad time” for manufacturers to make changes, said a stakeholder on the call, without explaining. The agency isn’t proposing that manufacturers use a separate label for the top-tier program, Vargas said. “The identification of the most efficient products would happen in a very Web-based, real-time way,” she said. The goal is not have a new label on products, she said.

Vargas said she didn’t think manufacturers would have to apply afresh to get their products qualified in the top-tier category. “When a product is submitted for the Energy Star label, we will have information on the efficiency of that product.” The new program would be open only to products sold in the U.S., but products made elsewhere can qualify, she said. From its research, the EPA’s “target consumer” profile for the new program is a small section of the population that has “already adopted green behaviors and habits” and are early adopters who place importance on environmental issues, she said. The “value proposition” for the group is “really about doing the right thing for the environment, being an early adopter, a trendsetter,” she said.

The EPA expects to announce a decision on the top-tier proposal by December, with a planned January rollout, she said. Comments on the proposal are due Oct. 29.