Some perspectives on the "Energy Star" label, posted on
The Green Blog...
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The problem with Energy Star -The Green Blog
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Take the Energy Star program: Started in 1992, it is one of the oldest and best known. But both the Consumer Union and the GAO concluded that it no longer delivers on its promise to help consumers identify the most energy efficient products because the bar is set so low that most appliances qualify in some product categories. For instance, 70 percent of the dishwashers on the market met Energy Star standards, the GAO noted in its October 2007 report. Consumer Reports went so far as to suggest manufacturer input can dilute the standards.
Other certification programs bear the stamps of approval from leading environmental groups. These certification processes, however, have been assailed for doing more to solve corporate public relations problems than reward truly sustainable product offerings. The same environmental groups overseeing the certification systems take hefty donations from the corporate interests that stand to benefit from using the “sustainable” product labels to market their products.
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