We're About To Lose One of the Best Things the Government Ever Built

Newsweek

20-05-2025

One of America's most effective public-private partnerships is under threat. Not from foreign adversaries, but from proposed budget cuts that would eliminate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program.
At first glance, Energy Star might seem like just a government label slapped on refrigerators or laptops. But behind that small, bright blue star, recognized by 90 percent of American households, is the nation's most trusted and impactful energy efficiency program. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, eliminating Energy Star would create chaos for consumers and businesses alike, replacing a consistent, science-based standard with a confusing tangle of inconsistent, often pay-to-play private certifications.
Close-up of Energy Star logo.
Close-up of Energy Star logo.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
Energy Star is more than a label. It's infrastructure. As of 2024, the EPA reports that the program saves American families an average of $450 per year on energy bills. It keeps mission-critical facilities—like hospitals, schools, and data centers—running efficiently and reliably. And it's a foundational tool for grid stability, helping utilities and building operators cut demand and emissions without sacrificing performance. By reducing overall energy consumption and improving the resilience of critical infrastructure, Energy Star also strengthens national security. Lower energy demand makes the grid less vulnerable to disruptions—whether from cyberattacks, natural disasters, or supply shortages—while energy-efficient buildings are better equipped to maintain operations during emergencies. In an era of growing threats to our energy infrastructure, programs like Energy Star are essential for safeguarding both our economy and our national security.
In an age of soaring energy demand, aging infrastructure, and rising utility costs, Americans need more tools to improve efficiency, not fewer. Gutting Energy Star would pull the rug out from under efforts to modernize our buildings, decarbonize our economy, and keep costs manageable for families and businesses alike.
I've spent over 30 years helping health systems, schools, and commercial real estate owners achieve Energy Star certification and realize measurable savings and resilience. In the early 1990s, I worked with the EPA to help design and scale the very tools that underpin the program's commercial building platform. Today, through my work with RE Tech Advisors and Legence, we've helped more than 25,000 buildings—totaling 5 billion square feet—track and improve performance using Energy Star tools.
This work has real, tangible impact. Take our recent partnership with Avanath Capital Management, a national affordable housing provider. Since 2021, Avanath has used Energy Star tools to analyze utility usage and create best-practice operating standards that ensure greater efficiencies and economies of scale. More than a quarter of its properties are now Energy Star certified, and they were recognized as an Energy Star Partner of the Year in 2024. These improvements helped the company reduce energy and water use by 10 percent—years ahead of schedule—freeing up capital for property repairs while keeping rents affordable for residents.
At Harvard Law School, our team developed a decarbonization roadmap across 22 buildings and 1.2 million square feet. Energy Star tools were critical to ensuring compliance with local building performance standards and benchmarking ordinances. But beyond compliance, the plan is delivering lower emissions, cleaner air, and improved energy performance.
This is why federal agencies, per the U.S. General Services Administration, require the office space they lease to meet Energy Star certification standards. It's not about politics. It's about performance. Energy Star-certified buildings use, on average, 35 percent less energy than non-certified ones. If the program disappears, those gains evaporate—and utilities, taxpayers, and the planet all pay the price.
Despite decades of bipartisan support, Energy Star now faces the chopping block. Yet no private organization has the impartiality, scientific rigor, or nationwide trust to replace it. The federal government has the data, lab research, and technical expertise needed to run Energy Star effectively and transparently. Eliminating it would be a reckless mistake—and a costly one.
Congress and the administration must recognize Energy Star for what it is: critical national infrastructure that has saved billions of dollars, reduced pollution, and strengthened our energy system for more than 30 years. It's a rare government success story—one where the public and private sectors work together to solve complex challenges and deliver real results.
If we want to stay globally competitive, reduce grid strain, and keep energy costs down for households and businesses, we can't afford to lose Energy Star. Contact your representatives. Tell them to protect a program that works—for all of us.
Deb Cloutier, CRE, is the chief sustainability officer at Legence, president and founder of RE Tech Advisors, and a senior advisor at Blackstone. With over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate and environmental sustainability, she has played a pivotal role in shaping national programs such as EPA's Energy Star and the Department of Energy's Better Buildings Initiative.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.