A bill passed in the U.S. House of Representatives would cut over $10 million in funding for the ENERGY STAR program, a 26% drop.
Facilities managers who use ENERGY STAR equipment and the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager will want to take action as this bill moves from the House to a future vote in the U.S. Senate.
Portfolio Manager gives free, online benchmarking against comparable buildings. More than 450,000 commercial buildings, representing more than 40 billion square feet of space, are actively measuring and tracking their energy use, according to ENERGY STAR.
A house report says that while it did not want to kill ENERGY STAR, adjustments are needed for budget allocation purposes.
The Alliance to Save Energy, a nonprofit, bipartisan alliance of leaders advocating for energy efficiency, have led the charge against the bill.
“Taking an ax to Energy Star would make it difficult if not impossible for the program to certify new energy-efficient products,” says Kateri Callahan, President of the Alliance to Save Energy. “This would not only hurt consumers but also the more than 16,000 companies and organizations that have invested valuable time and resources to make products that qualify for ENERGY STAR.”
Estimates provided by the Alliance to Save Energy are staggering. The ENERGY STAR program costs approximately $50 million a year to administer but provides $34 billion in savings in total energy costs.
To learn more about how to get involved in ASE, visit their web page ase.org/involved.
