E-Star for Earth Day
Celebrated annually on April 22nd in more than 192 countries, Earth Day is a worldwide event to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The significance of April 22nd was to maximize participation on college campuses, as the date did not fall during exams or spring breaks, nor did it conflict with religious holidays like Passover or Easter. Moreover, Earth Day marks the anniversary of what many consider the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Today, many communities also observe Earth Week or Earth Month by organizing a series of environmental activities throughout the month of April.
In December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of a new federal agency to tackle environmental issues, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or commonly known as EPA. Its mission is to protect human health and the environment for a cleaner, healthier planet for the American people. Established in 1992 by EPA, the Energy Star is a voluntary program that protects our climate via greenhouse gas emission reductions, promotes the use of energy-efficient products that meet the highest energy efficiency standards, and helps users save money on energy consumption.
Source: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_where_money
To maintain consumer trust, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has employed third-party certification requirements and testing for products. In order for products to earn the E-Star label, they must be certified based on up-front testing in EPA-recognized laboratories, as well as being subjected to off-the-shelf verification testing each year. The purpose of the latter is to ensure that changes or variations in the manufacturing process do not undermine a product’s qualification with Energy Star requirements. By emphasizing on testing, third-party review, and compliance screening, the program bolsters its integrity that Energy Star certified products deliver on the energy savings promised by its E-Star label.
For more information, including Energy Star qualified products, visit: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.