5900-34 Retailer

Partner of the Year Award Application – Retailer

ENERGY STAR Awards

2025 ENERGY STAR® Awards

Applications due: November 14, 2024

Instructions

Eligibility

Retailers of ENERGY STAR certified products. To be eligible for an award, an applicant must be a partner in good standing, having complied with applicable partner commitments. Additionally, please read the separate General Instructions for all applications.

• Regional retailers and specialized retailers are encouraged to apply and will be evaluated commensurate with their size and product focus.

• Buying groups and/or retail member groups are encouraged to apply. Buying groups should consider the same award evaluation criteria in compiling their application as retailers but should focus on demonstrating how they supported their retail members’ accomplishments in relation to the criteria, particularly for Product Specification and Stocking, Corporate Sustainability, and Marketing and Communications.

• E-tailers are encouraged to apply. E-tailers should consider the same award evaluation criteria in compiling their application as brick-and-mortar retailers, with the exception of Marketing and Communications tactics related to in-store.

Description

Retailers, both large and small, are making an ever-increasing contribution to the growing success of ENERGY STAR. As ENERGY STAR retail partner participation in the program continues to expand, we are dedicated to recognizing the best in terms of a broad commitment to and success with ENERGY STAR.

Each retailer excels in specific areas relative to their size and specialty. Applications will be reviewed with this in mind and, depending on the applicant pool, a separate retail Partner of the Year award may be given to a small, regional, or specialized retailer.

Narrative (Required)

Your narrative description should be no more than five (5) pages and should be accompanied by samples of specific outreach materials representing your 2024 activities, such as strategies, examples of participation in EPA Annual Promotions and other ENERGY STAR specific company-produced materials and initiatives. Only materials directly related to ENERGY STAR will be considered.

Organizations applying for the Partner of the Year Award should highlight their accomplishments from 2024, and if possible, cumulative accomplishments. Since applications are due on November 14, 2024, this will provide retailers an opportunity to share your accomplishments starting earlier in the season rather than the start of the calendar year (i.e., November 2023 – November 2024). When highlighting cumulative accomplishments, please ensure that you include a timeframe (e.g., “We saved more than $10 million in energy savings since 2001”).

See “Supporting Materials” section below for examples of supporting content that will not count towards the page limit. Please note that any supporting materials should be clearly referenced in the award narrative.

Part 1: Award Accomplishments Document

(use the following information to create a Word or PDF file)

Award Evaluation Criteria and Outline

In describing your company’s activities, please organize your submission document consistent with the outline below and be as specific as possible per the instructions for each criterion.

Section 1: ENERGY STAR Partnership and Planning

Partner should document all planning meetings held with EPA to discuss general coordination and collaboration. This can include in-person, and/or Zoom meetings where high level objectives were discussed. Please also provide information on how EPA was provided access and coordinated with merchants and other internal decision-making groups.

Section 2: Product Stocking and Sales

In this section, retailers should show how they worked to order and stock ENERGY STAR products in store and online. Leading retailers are expected to work to increase stocking and sales of ENERGY STAR products every year. This means working with suppliers to increase the number of SKUs/models and/or percentage of sales in EPA priority product categories. Please include stocking and sales information in the format below.

(Note: Cut and paste this table into your Accomplishments document for editing)

Stocking and Sales	Lighting	Appliances	Consumer Electronics	Water Heaters	Other Products
Number of ENERGY STAR certified models available in 2024	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.
Percentage YoY change over number of certified models available in 2023	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.
Percentage of eligible 2024 models that are ENERGY STAR certified	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.
Percentage of total sales (ENERGY STAR vs. non- ENERGY STAR units) in 2024	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.
Percentage total sales (ENERGY STAR vs. non- ENERGY STAR units) YoY change over 2023	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.	Click or tap here to enter text.

Please provide any additional context for decreases in product selection or sales, as appropriate. Retailers should also identify and provide examples of specific activities in support of increasing the availability of ENERGY STAR products, including coordination with manufacturers and/or suppliers.

Include any information on collaboration with EPA, manufacturers, and energy efficiency program sponsors/utilities in changes to stocking practices. For ENERGY STAR Retail Products Platform (ESRPP) members, include ESRPP related stocking activities in Section 5.

Section 3: Product Marketing and Promotions

In this section, retailers should show how they co-marketed and promoted ENERGY STAR products in store and online. Retailers should also identify and provide examples of specific activities in support of efforts to increase visibility of ENERGY STAR products online and in-store for each product category.

Describe your ENERGY STAR outreach initiatives along with participation in EPA coordinated efforts such as product promotions (lighting, refrigerators, laundry products, heating and cooling, water heaters, pool pumps, etc.), and overarching campaigns, including Earth Day, ENERGY STAR Day and holiday, as well as efforts like the ENERGY STAR brand campaign.

For these efforts, include any information on collaboration with EPA, manufacturers, and Energy Efficiency Program Sponsors (EEPS)/utilities in the development of these marketing and promotional activities, as well as examples of how the ENERGY STAR brand and messaging were integrated, and/or use of any ENERGY STAR-provided tools or marketing materials.

1. In-Store Product Marketing and Promotions

Identify and provide examples of content promoting ENERGY STAR certified products and their benefits in-store. For each product area, include specific examples of activities that included ENERGY STAR benefits such as:

• Product category or product specific how-to, selection, or category signage

• In-store kiosk or selection tools

• Signage created/cobranded with utilities and EEPS

• Public Address/overhead announcement messaging (include script and/or audio)

• In-store events

2. ENERGY STAR Website Filter for Product Selection

Provide visual evidence of a fully implemented product filter on the retailer’s website that shows ENERGY STAR across every relevant product webpage.

3. Selection Website Product Marketing and Promotions

Identify and provide examples of content promoting ENERGY STAR certified products and their benefits in each product category on the retail website. Include specific examples of web content, such as:

• Product overviews and how-to guides

• Display ads on the retailer site

• Use of the certification mark and/or appropriate wording on search result pages and product detail pages

• ENERGY STAR partnership on corporate sustainability website

Note: In addition to the three priority areas outlined above, EPA will also consider cross-cutting efforts that have been incorporated into company practices, such as:

• Commitment to organization-wide facility energy efficiency improvements

• Organizational procurement practices of ENERGY STAR certified products

• Outline company efforts to reduce GHG emissions on site (e.g., recycling programs, solar, Bike to Work initiatives, electric vehicle charging stations, etc.)

• Outline company efforts to reduce GHG emissions in the value chain of its products (i.e., manufacturing processes for products, and/or use of alternative refrigerants or foams)

• Offering recycling of products and/or packaging or developing in-house recycling programs

• Participation in the development of data tools, such as QPX and Product Finder. (Where applicable for your product category)

• Commitment to protecting the integrity of the ENERGY STAR brand through continuous improvement, enhanced quality assurance, reporting logo violations, or other practices

Section 4: Overall ENERGY STAR Education and Promotion

This section is to demonstrate what your company has done throughout the year to promote ENERGY STAR and educate consumers about energy efficiency and its environmental and other benefits through general efforts, such as advertising, social media, public relations, events, etc.

Company should provide examples of the following ENERGY STAR consumer outreach activities:

• Advertising (including television spots, radio spots, newspaper circulars, display ads on non-retailer websites, e-newsletters, promotional emails, direct mail, and search engine advertising)

• Social media (including Facebook, YouTube, partnerships with influencers, and blog posts)

• Public Relations (including press releases, content syndication, or a retailer’s media portal)

• Consumer materials that show environmental benefits messaging, such as climate protection

Clearly identify if specific ENERGY STAR-provided content or tool was used in an activity, such as posting a suggested ENERGY STAR partner message on social media.

Section 5: ENERGY STAR Scope 3 GHG Calculator & Corporate Sustainability

Consumers want to choose more sustainable products and ENERGY STAR helps them reach that goal. This section is a retailer’s opportunity to describe how they have utilized ENERGY STAR products within their sustainability strategy over the last year.

In this section, retailers should do the following:

• In one paragraph or less, describe their carbon reduction effort/campaign, including carbon neutrality goals and what year your company is aiming for complete carbon-neutrality.

• Describe their use of the ENERGY STAR Scope 3 GHG calculator and how it’s used to supplement/augment their internal carbon reduction calculations/goals. (The ENERGY STAR Scope 3 calculator is designed specifically for retailers that wish to accurately estimate scope 3 carbon emissions and savings directly related to the sale of ENERGY STAR products.)

• Using specific qualitative or quantitative examples, describe how ENERGY STAR is incorporated into their overall corporate sustainability strategy.

Section 6: ENERGY STAR Retail Products Platform

ENERGY STAR Retail Products Platform (ESRPP) Participants Only

EPA is working with a national group of program managers and retailers to develop a more streamlined approach to energy efficiency. If your company is participating in this effort, please outline the following:

• Date joined (first agreement signed)

• Number of stores covered by partnerships

• Participation in Retail Action Council meetings and ESRPP-related participation at ENERGY STAR national partner meetings

Brief description of presentations on ESRPP made by your company at national forums or conferences.

Prepare/Gather Remaining Documents for Upload

Part 2: Supporting Materials (at least one required)

Applicants should submit electronic samples of program materials and visual examples (photos or screenshots) to accompany the narrative description. Additionally, EPA will also validate incorporation of the ENERGY STAR label by reviewing use of the ENERGY STAR logo and educational content of the applicant’s website.

Applicants should not submit or send hard copies/physical copies of supporting materials.

Part 3: Organization’s High Resolution Logo (required)

OMB Control Number: 2060-0528

OMB Control Expiration Date: Pending Approval

EPA Form Number: 5900-34

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