Contact: EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON (Nov. 30, 2021) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) celebrates the 580 manufacturing plants that achieved the energy savings goals set out by EPA 10 years ago to drive energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Through the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry, manufacturing plants agreed to reduce energy intensity by 10 percent within five years. These 580 plants nearly doubled this goal.

On average, plants that met this challenge reduced their energy intensity by 19 percent within an average of two years. More than 100 plants have taken the challenge twice in a row, achieving reductions of more than 10 percent each time. Together, these plants have prevented more than 17 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering our atmosphere and saved more than $443 million in energy costs.

“Tackling the climate crisis requires everyone coming together to reduce pollution, and our industry partners have shown that we can accomplish this while improving energy efficiency and achieving millions in cost savings in the process,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Companies that have met the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry have demonstrated the business case for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through efficiency, and we encourage more companies to accept the challenge and help America transition to a clean energy future.”

EPA works in partnership with manufacturers to accept the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry and pledge to reduce their plant’s energy intensity through improved energy management. As an element of the ENERGY STAR industrial program, the challenge drives energy savings in individual plants by motivating employees and raising the visibility of energy management activities, often through low- and no-cost operational measures. Since 2010, more than 150 manufacturing companies have taken the pledge on behalf of more than 1,800 manufacturing plants. Participating plants can be found in nearly every state and more than 60 countries around the world. Plants represent dozens of industrial sectors, including automobile manufacturing, paper milling, bread and roll bakeries, pharmaceuticals, cement, glass, electronics, and textiles.

About ENERGY STAR
ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions. Thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state, and local organizations—including nearly 40 percent of the Fortune 500®—rely on their partnership with EPA to deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions. Together, since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped American families and businesses save 5 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoid more than $450 billion in energy costs, and achieve 4 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions, all through voluntary action. Learn more about ENERGY STAR at https://www.energystar.gov/about/origins_mission/impacts. For state-by-state data on ENERGY STAR, see https://www.energystar.gov/about/state_fact_sheets. For more information on the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry, visit: https://www.energystar.gov/industrial_plants/earn_recognition/energy_star_challenge_industry2