ENERGY STAR Rating Encourages Mediocrity

By Mari Abe, GreenPepper

As seen in a recent Washington Post article, there is a wide variance in the performance of ENERGY STAR rated products. Simply put, the rating works on a pass-fail system. Because the rating only has one set of standards and one label to hand out, high-performance products are jumbled with mid to low performance products. According to the article, government data shows that in 2008, 79 percent of all the televisions sold in the United States carried the ENERGY STAR logo. This leaves the average consumer at a gross disadvantage when shopping for appliances, TV’s and more. How can the very best products shine when you can’t distinguish it from an average one?

While I applaud the Department of Energy (DOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for doing its part to ensure that all products are energy-efficient, perhaps it can take a cue from the MBDC Cradle-to-Cradle rating where products are rated as Platinum, Gold or Silver based on a certain set of criteria such as materials chemistry, efficient use of water, recyclability at end of life and more. Contrary to ENERGY STAR, Cradle-to-Cradle is set-up like an A-F grading scale. This allows consumers to make informed and educated purchasing decisions. Furthermore, it lets companies like office furniture manufacturer Steelcase*, shoot for the best certification possible without feeling the pressure cheat or take shortcuts to achieve one. Because while an entry-level task chair may only qualify for Silver, their high-end ergonomic chair is considered Platinum.

In the simple ENERGY STAR rating system, companies like Whirlpool*, who have always gone above and beyond to bring energy-efficient products to the end consumer loses out to newer manufacturers who barely make the cut. More importantly, it hinders innovation and slows down the rate at which better energy-efficient products are brought to market. After all, we all know that a college student taking a class pass-fail, rarely shows up for class.

*For full disclosure, these companies are Peppercom clients.

Comments

[Matt S]

Solid post. Another problem is that companies rate themselves and are only spot-checked.

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