The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) bestowed their annual Energy Star Awards in Washington on Wednesday for what may have been the last time.
The voluntary program, which has helped consumers choose energy-efficient appliances, electronics and other products for a quarter of a century, could soon be eliminated by the Trump administration, whose drastic EPA budget cuts would “zero out” Energy Star next year.
So let’s raise what could be a final glass to this year’s Partner of the Year appliance winners, and hope for a stay of execution for a program that drives business, spared the atmosphere millions of metric tons of greenhouse gasses, and has saved consumers hundreds of billions of dollars.
- Beko U.S./Arcelik (Product Brand Owner)
- Best Buy (Sustained Excellence)
- Nationwide Marketing Group (Sustained Excellence)
- Sears Holdings (Sustained Excellence)
- The Home Depot (Sustained Excellence)
- Whirlpool (Sustained Excellence)
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