by Brianna Crandall — April 8, 2016—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are honoring 149 businesses and organizations in 35 states for their commitment to saving energy and protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency achievements at a ceremony in Washington, DC, on April 13.
Recipients of the 2016 Energy Star Partner of the Year Award will include Beazer Homes, DirecTV, General Motors Company, The Home Depot, Pella Corporation and Verizon, among others.
2016 Energy Star awards:
Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence: The 93 Sustained Excellence winners continue to demonstrate remarkable leadership each year in the Energy Star program while remaining committed to environmental protection through superior energy efficiency.
Partner of the Year: 47 organizations have been awarded the Partner of the Year award for strategically and comprehensively managing their energy use. These organizations promote Energy Star products and practices in their own operations, while providing energy-efficient products and services to their customers.
Contractor of the Year: Six of the winners are winning at least in part for their superior efforts in promoting the Home Performance with Energy Star program, which is administered by DOE with support from EPA.
Climate Communicator: The six Climate Communicator winners, all of whom are also Sustained Excellence awardees, have raised their customers’ awareness of the impacts of climate change. Through their efforts, these partners illustrate how energy-efficient behaviors have a positive impact on the environment while encouraging customers to save energy and protect the climate.
Excellence: Three winners are receiving recognition for demonstrating outstanding promotion of energy-efficient products, homes, or buildings.
DOE and EPA offer more details about each award winner’s achievements on the Energy Star Web site.
Since its inception in 1992, Energy Star and its partners, including the 149 Partners of the Year awardees, have helped prevent a total of more than 2.4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Star has 16,000 partners working to protect the environment through greater energy efficiency, including manufacturers, retailers, public schools, hospitals, real estate companies and home builders. In 2014 alone, Energy Star and its partners provided more than $11 billion in societal benefits due to reducing damages from climate change.
