View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 2060-0347	ICR Reference No: 201601-2060-002
Status: Historical Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201301-2060-010
Agency/Subagency: EPA/OAR	Agency Tracking No: 1772.07
Title: EPA's ENERGY STAR Program in the Commercial and Industrial Sectors (Renewal)
Type of Information Collection: Revision of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved without change	Conclusion Date: 09/07/2016
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 02/16/2016
Terms of Clearance:

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	09/30/2019	36 Months From Approved	09/30/2016
Responses	285,627	0	218,704
Time Burden (Hours)	254,084	0	194,509
Cost Burden (Dollars)	10,827,727	0	10,318,180

Abstract: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created ENERGY STAR as a voluntary program to help businesses and individuals protect the environment through superior energy efficiency. The program focuses on reducing utility-generated emissions by reducing the demand for energy. In 1991, EPA launched the Green Lights Program to encourage corporations, state and local governments, colleges and universities, and other organizations to adopt energy-efficient lighting as a profitable means of preventing pollution and improving lighting quality. Since then, EPA has rolled Green Lights into ENERGY STAR for the commercial and industrial sectors and expanded ENERGY STAR to encompass organization-wide energy performance improvement, such as building technology upgrades, product purchasing initiatives, and employee training. At the same time, EPA has streamlined the reporting requirements of ENERGY STAR and focused on providing recognition incentives for improvements (e.g., ENERGY STAR Awards Program). EPA also makes tools and resources available over the Web to help the public overcome the barriers to evaluating their energy performance and investing in profitable improvements. For several reasons, the public’s participation in the ENERGY STAR program for commercial and industrial sectors has continued to increase over the past several years, and EPA expects their participation to rise even more in the coming years. For example, President Obama and the U.S. Congress have made energy efficiency an important component of the federal government’s approach to energy management. In addition, the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015 includes “Tenant Star,” a new recognition program within ENERGY STAR to improve energy efficiency in tenant-occupied spaces in commercial buildings. In addition, a growing number of state and local governments are leveraging ENERGY STAR as a way for the public to respond to rising energy costs and global warming, including mandatory energy benchmarking and disclosure laws that require buildings within their jurisdiction to use EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. Participation in ENERGY STAR has also risen dramatically because of the efforts of trade associations, utilities, and third-party providers in promoting the program to the public. These organizations voluntarily communicate ENERGY STAR messages and promote the use of ENERGY STAR tools and strategies in an effort to help companies reduce their energy consumption and find more environmentally friendly ways to conduct business. As participation has increased, EPA has taken measures to reduce the burden on participants to take advantage of the benefits of ENERGY STAR. For example, EPA has expanded Portfolio Manager Web Services, which is a method of benchmarking that is much easier than other methods. The Agency also completed a comprehensive upgrade of Portfolio Manager, allowing participants to enter and retrieve information more quickly, and vastly simplified the process of entering building data in the National Building Competition so participants can register portfolios of buildings with just a few clicks. As a result of the efforts of Partners and others under the ENERGY STAR Program, there have been significant benefits to the public and environment. For example, EPA estimates that, in 2013, the energy efficiency efforts of commercial buildings helped to avoid 96.0 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e) of greenhouse gases and a net $7.7 billion (2013$). The efforts of industry helped to prevent another 39.7 MMTCO2 e of greenhouse gases and achieve a net savings of $2.2 billion (2013$). Typically, ENERGY STAR buildings use 35% less energy and emit 35% less greenhouse gases than average buildings. By the end of 2013, more than 22,000 buildings and plants representing more than three billion square feet of space had earned ENERGY STAR certification.

Authorizing Statute(s): US Code: 42 USC 7403 Name of Law: Clean Air Act

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	80 FR 43770	07/23/2015
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	81 FR 7538	02/12/2016
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? No

ICR Summary of Burden

	Total Approved	Previously Approved	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate
Annual Number of Responses	285,627	218,704	-331	67,254
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	254,084	194,509	-291	59,866
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	10,827,727	10,318,180	99,900	409,647

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: Yes

Burden Reduction Due to: Using Information Technology

Short Statement: The majority of the increase in ICR 1772.07 resulted from EPA’s adjustments to its estimates of the public’s use of Portfolio Manager, EPA’s voluntary online tool for energy management. Based on the previous three years, EPA expects the number of participants using Portfolio Manager to increase significantly over the next three years. For example, from the currently approved ICR to this one, the number of buildings being benchmarked in Portfolio Manager is estimated to increase from 184,000 to 246,000 buildings annually. In addition, EPA made a few program changes. The Agency terminated the Leaders Program, intends to initiate the Tenant Recognition Program, and made minor changes to existing collections. The $89,910 increase from Agency actions resulted from the new Tenant Recognition Program. Participants will be asked to obtain third-party verification of their submittal for recognition.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $884,051

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Is the Supporting Statement intended to be a Privacy Impact Assessment required by the E-Government Act of 2002? No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? Uncollected

Agency Contact: Stephanie Klein 202 343-9144

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion