View Information Collection Request (ICR) Package

OMB Control No: 2060-0347	ICR Reference No: 201909-2060-013
Status: Active	Previous ICR Reference No: 201601-2060-002
Agency/Subagency: EPA/OAR	Agency Tracking No: 1772.08
Title: EPA's ENERGY STAR Program in the Commercial and Industrial Sectors (Renewal)
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR: No
Type of Review Request: Regular
OIRA Conclusion Action: Approved with change	Conclusion Date: 01/08/2021
Retrieve Notice of Action (NOA)	Date Received in OIRA: 09/30/2019
Terms of Clearance: In accordance with 5 CFR 1320, the information collection is approved for three years. OMB requests that the Agency update the supporting statement to the standard 18 question format in the next ICR renewal.

	Inventory as of this Action	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	01/31/2024	36 Months From Approved	01/31/2021
Responses	332,914	0	285,627
Time Burden (Hours)	210,306	0	254,084
Cost Burden (Dollars)	5,034,450	0	10,827,727

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 publics 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, 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 greenhouse gas emissions, including mandatory energy benchmarking and disclosure laws that require buildings within their jurisdiction to use EPAs ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager. As of the end of 2018, 29 local governments and three states rely on Portfolio Manager as the foundation for their energy benchmarking and transparency policies. 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. As participation has increased, EPA has taken measures to reduce the burden on participants that take advantage of the benefits of ENERGY STAR. For example, EPA has expanded Portfolio Manager Web Services, which is one of several benchmarking data-entry methods available to users. Because Web Services integrates automated data collection and entry, it offers significant time-saving advantages over the other methods. Over many years, EPA has seen a growing trend of users opting for Web Services and thereby realizing these savings. In 2009, 41% of all benchmarks were performed using Web Services. By 2017, this had grown to 73%. In addition to expanding Web Services, the Agency has continued to enhance other features of Portfolio Manager, allowing participants to enter and retrieve information more quickly. Furthermore, EPA is always looking for ways to reduce burden and in recent years has introduced changes to the requirements for certification that reduce both labor and cost for applicants, without impacting the integrity of the ENERGY STAR certification. In 2017, the ENERGY STAR program for commercial buildings helped businesses and organizations save 160 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoid $9 billion in energy costs, and protect the climate by achieving 110 million metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions. On average, ENERGY STAR certified buildings use 35% less energy than typical buildings nationwide. In 2017, the ENERGY STAR program for industrial plants helped businesses save 34 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, avoid $3 billion in energy costs, and protect the climate by achieving 40 million metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions.

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:
	83 FR 64125	12/13/2018
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	84 FR 50828	09/26/2019
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	332,914	285,627	-2,640	49,927
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	210,306	254,084	-7,656	-36,122
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	5,034,450	10,827,727	-3,297,235	-2,496,042

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: There is a decrease of 43,778 hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. This decrease is due in part to program enhancements and clarifications. The decrease is also due to EPAs adjustments to its burden estimates. For example, EPA adjusted its analysis of its online tool, Portfolio Manager, to reflect data indicating that, although use of the tool is increasing, users are spending less time per building benchmarked, on average, than in the past.

Annual Cost to Federal Government: $616,456

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

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination. 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? No

Agency Contact: Cynthia Veit Maia 202 564-9494

View ICR - OIRA Conclusion