Form 5900-34 General Instructions and Executive Summary

General Instructions

ENERGY STAR Awards

2025 ENERGY STAR® Awards

Applications due: November 14, 2024

Contents

Submitting your application 1

What you need to submit your application 1

How and when to submit your application 2

What to expect after you submit 2

Additional information 2

Guidance on Supporting Materials 3

Guidance on Excellence Awards 4

Submitting your application

What you need to submit your application

• Your “My ENERGY STAR Account” (MESA) partner account login information (see below under “How and when to submit your application”).

The system will Auto-Save as you progress through each application submission step; you may save, leave and return to complete your application at any time before the submission closing date.

You must have all the information and documents identified below completed and available at the time you are ready to finally submit your application. Partial submission is not available.

• The name of your organization exactly as you would want it to appear on your award crystal and all other communications materials about your award.

• The name, title and email address of your organization’s CEO/President.

• Electronic copies of the following:

• PART 1: Accomplishments Document (in Word or PDF) (required)

1. Narrative (varies by ENERGY STAR Award Application Type)

2. Application-specific Information (varies by award type)

• PART 2: Supporting Materials (varies by award type) (minimum of 1 required)

• PART 3: Organization Logo (High Resolution) (required)

How and when to submit your application

• All applications must be electronically submitted through your “My ENERGY STAR Account”(MESA) (www.energystar.gov/mesa). We will only accept applications submitted via MESA.

• If you do not have a MESA account, have problems logging into MESA, or problems submitting your application, contact us immediately at awards@energystar.gov for help.

• Application submittal via MESA will be available starting October 3, 2024, and will close at 8:00 pm EST on
  Thursday, November 14, 2024. We will not accept any applications or materials received after this date.

What to expect after you submit

• Confirmation of Receipt: You will receive an email upon completion of your MESA submittal, confirming our receipt of your materials. It will be sent to the Primary and Communications contacts named in the award application. If you do not receive confirmation, email awards@energystar.gov.

• Notification: You will be notified no later than Thursday, February 6, 2025 about the status of your application.
  
  
  

Additional information

• Information about the ENERGY STAR awards ceremony will be posted at www.energystar.gov/awards.

• The Sustained Excellence Award, our highest honor, recognizes organizations that have won Partner of the Year for several years and that continue to surpass the achievements of previous years. There is no separate application for Sustained Excellence, except Sustained Excellence for Energy Management.

• We encourage all eligible ENERGY STAR partners to apply for a Partner of the Year Award. Applicants for Partner of the Year that are not selected to receive this award will be automatically considered for other recognition.

• The other forms of recognition available to partners and other organizations that work with ENERGY STAR are the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Contractor of the Year Award, the Excellence Award for Data Innovation, the Excellence Award for ENERGY STAR Marketing, and the Excellence Award for Product Design.

Guidance on Supporting Materials

• Be aware that EPA will refer to material in applications in its promotion of winners’ achievements. Do not include any sensitive information in an application that EPA should not promote or publicize.

• Supporting materials such as print, radio, TV and internet advertisements; point of purchase materials; bills stuffers; educational pamphlets; newsletters; and snapshots of social media postings should be compiled in an easy-to-access and easy-to-understand format to the maximum extent practical.

  • For example, a PDF file could be compiled that labels items by type (e.g., print advertisement, web banner) and subsequently provides supporting imagery under each category.

  • EPA strongly discourages the use of zip files.

  • Each file must be less than 100MB. File names must be no longer than 15 characters and contain no spaces or special characters. EPA recommends intuitive file names such as a reference to the organization name (or acronym) and the content of the file (e.g., EPAenergyEd).

  • For audio and video examples, you may provide a screen shot and enter the link(s) to available online versions through your MESA account application submission process.

  • EPA and DOE reserve the right not to review materials that are difficult to access on a standard government-issued computer.

• Where possible, consolidate your supporting materials into one or two PDF files.

• Heavy traffic and high upload volumes on the last day before the application deadline can cause the website to become slow. If you plan to submit more than six supporting files, or one or more files that are larger than 6 MB, upload your application well in advance of the deadline.

• Applicants should ensure that any supporting materials they submit demonstrate proper ENERGY STAR logo use according to the ENERGY STAR Brand Guidelines. Any instances of logo violations will strongly impact the review of the application.

• Any videos should be marketing/commercial in nature, showcasing your ENERGY STAR partnership.

Note: EPA may showcase short (~1 min) partner videos at the awards event and on the website. Videos must follow Section 508 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, 29 U.S.C. 794d) compliant. Submit the captioning file and provide a description of non-verbal video elements to be posted in the video description to be considered for this type of promotion.

Guidance on Excellence Awards

• Organizations considering applying for a Partner of the Year award in any category (including Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Contractor of the Year) and applying for recognition through the secondary Excellence category are strongly encouraged to submit just one Partner of the Year application that responds to the criteria of both categories. To aid in the review and scoring of your submission, it is important that your single application be fully responsive to the criteria set forth in both the primary and secondary Excellence award categories.

• Where applicable, quantify your activities and the results (e.g., percent improvement, growth in ENERGY STAR market share, number of media impressions for outreach efforts), and include electronic copies of documentation that support claims made (e.g., photos of marketing materials, samples of advertisements with the ENERGY STAR mark, copies of training materials used, etc.).

• Organizations that are under contract with the EPA are not eligible to receive an award. They may, however, be involved in preparing applications on behalf of clients that partner with ENERGY STAR.

• Each applicant will be screened for any civil and criminal environmental actions. EPA will screen your organization and any related subsidiaries for compliance with environmental regulations. You are requested to list the main subsidiaries of your organization as an input into this screening process. The most accurate listing of subsidiaries is one that you provide. If you do not list subsidiaries, EPA will create a list of subsidiaries for you and will decide eligibility from the listing it prepares. Results of the screening will be factored into the award selection process.

OMB Control Number: 2060-0528

OMB Control Expiration Date: Pending Approval

EPA Form Number: 5900-34

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