EPA announces Energy Star rating for hotels

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman officially launched a new Energy Star performance rating tool for hotels June 12.|ret||ret||tab|

For the first time, hotels can benchmark their energy performance against others on a nationwide scale of 1 to 100.|ret||ret||tab|

Whitman announced the rating tool for hotels during a speech at the Energy Efficiency Forum at the National Press Club, where she highlighted the success of EPA's Energy Star program in saving Americans money and energy while protecting the environment.|ret||ret||tab|

"Hotel companies can now compare the energy performance of their hotels to others nationwide and are eligible to earn and display the prestigious Energy Star label for their top performers," Whitman said. "Last year alone, Americans, with the help of Energy Star, saved $5 billion on their energy bills and reduced pollution equivalent to that of 10 million cars."|ret||ret||tab|

Whitman noted that more than 800 office buildings and schools across the country already have earned the Energy Star label.|ret||ret||tab|

"I look forward to working in partnership with the hospitality industry to improve upon our success and have an enormous impact on our environment," Whitman said.|ret||ret||tab|

According to the EPA, the hotel industry spends almost $5 billion a year on energy bills. |ret||ret||tab|

If hotels improved their energy efficiency by an average of 30 percent, the annual electricity bill savings would be nearly $1.5 billion, and carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by nearly 6 million metric tons.|ret||ret||tab|

As part of his National Energy Plan, President Bush called for increased public awareness of the Energy Star program and its benefits to consumers and businesses. The Energy Star program was established by the EPA in 1992. Bush also called for the expansion of the program to provide the label for additional building types, including grocery stores, hospitals and hotels. |ret||ret||tab|

Using the Energy Star Web site at |bold_on|www.energystar.gov, hotels will be able to analyze the energy performance of their buildings, set goals for improvement, and track their progress online using EPA's portfolio manager.|ret||ret||tab|

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