Ford, Lowe's, J.C. Penney and KB Home are among the winners of the 2011 Energy Star Awards, announced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today.
The four companies all won in the Sustained Excellence category, which recognizes companies that exhibit leadership in the Energy Star program year after year, while remaining dedicated to energy efficiency. Other Sustained Excellence winners include 3M, Bosch Home Appliances, GE and PepsiCo. In all, there were 46 winners in this category.
The EPA awarded its Partner of the Year award to 44 organizations that strategically and comprehensively managed their energy use by promoting Energy Star products and practices in their operation, and by providing efficient products and services to consumers. Partners of the Year included Boeing, Cleveland Clinic, Colgate-Palmolive, Hanesbrands, HEI Hotels & Resorts, Kohl’s, Panasonic, Sears, and Staples.
Another 21 organizations, including Canon, DirectTV, Lennox, Menards and Sharp Electronics, won the Excellence award. This accolade recognizes a specific activity for promoting energy-efficient products, homes or buildings.
Energy Star is a joint program of the EPA and the Department of Energy. It designates energy-efficient homes and appliances, provides an energy performance rating system for commercial buildings, and offers businesses help in measuring energy performance, setting goals, tracking savings and rewarding improvements.
Since 2000, approximately 3.5 billion Energy Star qualified products have been sold. Nearly 1.2 million new homes and more than 12,600 office buildings, schools, hospitals and public buildings have earned the Energy Star.
Last year Energy Star and its 20,000 partners helped Americans save $18 billion on their energy bills while preventing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the annual emissions of 33 million vehicles, the EPA said.
A full list of award winners is available here.
