The EPA is encouraging travelers to bring their green on the road this summer, and choosing hotels that have earned EPA’s ENERGY STAR is a great place to start. ENERGY STAR labeled hotels are independently verified to meet strict energy efficiency performance levels set by EPA. Hotels that have earned the ENERGY STAR perform in the top 25% of hotels nationwide, use at least 35% less energy and emit at least 35% less greenhouse gas emissions than their peers - making an environmentally-friendly lodging choice a snap when planning a summer vacation. EPA Press Release Hotels that have earned the ENERGY STAR: http://www.energystar.gov/buildinglist More about ENERGY STAR and the lodging industry: http://www.energystar.gov/hospitality

Today EPA recognized the first group of manufacturing sites that have met the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry and reduced their energy intensity by 10% within 5 years or less. The U.S. manufacturing industry is responsible for nearly 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and spends almost 0 billion annually on energy. Under the umbrella of the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry, EPA is working with individual manufacturing sites and their parent companies to fight climate change through improvements in energy efficiency. EPA Press Release Learn more: energystar.gov/industrychallenge

In partnership with several states and utilities, the EPA announced a new pilot program designed to further improve commercial building energy efficiency. Building Performance with ENERGY STAR will help utilities and state energy efficiency programs achieve increased energy savings by strategically pursuing whole building energy improvements with their business customers. The pilot program is being launched with ENERGY STAR partners Commonwealth Edison, Mass Save, MidAmerican, National Grid, the New Jersey's Clean Energy Program, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, and Focus on Energy. EPA Press Release Press Overview Factsheet (36KB)

It just got harder for a TV to earn the ENERGY STAR. Starting May 1st, 2010, TVs that carry the government's ENERGY STAR label are, on average, 40% more efficient than conventional models. Available in stores nationwide, these TVs will help consumers save even more energy and money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and still deliver all the features and performance quality they expect. Find an ENERGY STAR Qualified TV

Today EPA launched the National Building Competition, a coast-to-coast contest between commercial buildings to save energy and fight climate change. The competition is the first national energy efficiency contest of its kind and features 14 commercial buildings from across the country that will "work off the waste" through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA's ENERGY STAR program. The building that sheds the most energy waste on a percentage basis will be declared the winner by EPA on October 26, 2010. EPA Press Release More Information

EPA is announcing new, more rigorous guidelines for new homes looking to earn the ENERGY STAR. Compared to the prior ENERGY STAR guidelines, the new requirements increase the energy efficiency of qualified homes by more than 10%, making them more than 20% more efficient than homes built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). These guidelines will begin to go into effect in January, 2011, although some builders may choose to adopt the new requirements earlier. EPA Press Release More Information

Today EPA and DOE jointly announced changes to the ENERGY STAR product certification process to ensure that only products meeting the ENERGY STAR requirements can receive an ENERGY STAR label. These changes accelerate steps DOE and EPA have initiated over the past several months to bolster the verification, testing and enforcement aspects of the ENERGY STAR program. EPA Press Release (4/14/2010) Joint EPA/DOE Letter: Building a Stronger ENERGY STAR Program (144KB) (4/14/2010) Letter to Manufacturer Partners Regarding Resuming Product Qualifications (45KB) (4/14/2010) EPA Press Release (3/19/2010) Letter to ENERGY STAR Manufacturer Partners: Immediate Changes to Product Qualification Procedures (46KB) (3/30/2010)

EPA's list of U.S. metropolitan areas with the largest number of buildings that earned EPA's ENERGY STAR in 2009 is headed by Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Houston, Lakeland, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, and New York. Continuing the impressive growth of the past several years, in 2009 nearly 3,900 commercial buildings earned the ENERGY STAR, representing annual savings of more than 0 million in utility bills and more than 4.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. EPA Press Release Top 25 Cities in 2009 (169KB) Registry of all ENERGY STAR labeled buildings Learn more

EPA released a new report profiling leading organizations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. The report: "Profiles in Leadership, 2010 ENERGY STAR Award Winners," highlights over 100 organizations across many sectors of the U.S. economy, including schools, hospitals, real estate, manufacturing, chemicals, and home building. The report offers insights into this diverse set of winners and their energy-efficient approaches and practices. The awards will be presented on March 18, 2010 in Washington, D.C. EPA Press Release Report: Profiles in Leadership: 2010 ENERGY STAR Award Winners (4.2MB) List of 2010 ENERGY STAR Award Winners

The February 22 Washington Post article on ENERGY STAR raises an important issue that EPA works on continually – where to set the ENERGY STAR levels that determine which products can earn the label. More