Green Dealer Support

Energy Star products were first introcuced in the mid 1990’s with a preference toward office products. Monitors and computers were the first labeled products. By the early 2000’s Home Electronics saw its start with the Energy Star label. Since then many additional items now carry the Energy Star label with over 60 product categories now covered. The ENERGY STAR label is now on major appliances, office equipment, lighting, home electronics, and more. EPA has also extended the label to cover new homes and commercial and industrial buildings.

Through its partnerships with private and public sector organizations, ENERGY STAR delivers the technical information and tools that organizations and consumers need to choose energy-efficient solutions and best management practices. One of thos Energy Star Services and Product Providers is Green Dealer Support. Their stated focus is to help Automobile Dealers become “greener”. Energy Star plays a signifiant role in helping them achieve that goal.

 Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, prevented 210 million metric tons of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions1 in 2011 alone— equivalent to the annual emissions from 41 million vehicles—and reduced their utility bills by $23 billion.

Energy Star puublished the following chart to show these saving:

 Some specific dealership used products that can be Energy Stat rated are:

Water heaters and Furnaces

Monitors

Copiers and Printers

These products and many more have an Energy Star rating. Click here to go to the Energy Star list of rated products. Energy efficiency should always be part of every purchasing practice/policy.

Energy Star is a very recognized brand name. The organization was created in 1992 as a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. They claim to having been responsible for the avoidance of huge amounts of greenhouse gases and in 2010 alone the reduction of 18 billion dollars in utility bills. We see the Energy Star label on products and in printed information. But did you know about all the things that Energy Star does?

The Energy Star website is divided into several sections that provide a great roadmap as to all the things they do. Of course the testing and labeling of Energy Star rated products is there but the website also provides great detail on what businesses and homes can do to conserve energy. Our discussion in this blog is a high level discussion of the tools and information that car dealers can use to become “greener” and communicate that to their employees and the community.

When performing Dealership Assessment and working with car dealers on Implementation Green Dealer Support uses many of the tools available on the Energy Star website. A couple of areas we find particularly valuable for car dealers are:

• Encouraging using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager
• Signing up for the Energy Star Challenge
• Researching Energy Star Products

A large amount of information is also available for non-business applications. This starts with Energy Star Products and also includes a lot of information that can be really helpful in the operation of your home. Both new home purchasers as well as those with older homes can benefit from this area of the website. To learn more about Energy Star click on this link.

In later Blogs we intend to examine the why and how of using some of the great Energy Star tools for car dealers. For now you might want to see what a couple of dealers did to become green using the Energy Star tools as well as working through the issues on their own:

Auto Fair Companies in Manchester New Hampshire

Patriot Subaru in Saco Maine

Sorting through all of the Energy Star tools and information is something that Green Dealer Support has become very experienced at and can assist car dealers in leveraging all the information that is available. As we  discuss Energy Star tools and information in greater depth in later blogs we will share with you how these tools work.