ENERGY STAR Highly Visible at the 2009 National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show
The 2009 NRA Show, held May 16 to 19, 2009, in Chicago, IL, hosted more than 54,000 commercial food service (CFS) industry professionals. The ENERGY STAR team attended the four day event and was proud to see such a strong and wide-spread display of the ENERGY STAR! The team very much appreciated the innovative marketing of ENERGY STAR qualified CFS equipment and thanks all of our valued partners for their efforts to protect the environment through your development and promotion of energy-efficient products and practices.
Conserve/EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge
The NRA Show turned out to be a remarkable opportunity for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR Program and the NRA Conserve Initiative to involve industry representatives in the Conserve/EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge. The Challenge is designed to help restaurateurs, suppliers, and distributors cut their energy and water costs. Signing up to take the Challenge represents a commitment to conserve resources and start taking steps to promote business and environmental best practices that make a collective difference reducing greenhouse gas emissions asociated with the CFS industry.
The Challenge starts restaurateurs with no- and low-cost tips to reducing energy and water use, starting with tracking what restaurants are already consuming by utilizing EPA’s free ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager software. As restaurant owners and managers take steps to conserve resources, more energy- and water-saving best practices will be introduced into the program over time such as purchasing ENERGY STAR qualified CFS equipment.
This voluntary, free initiative is gaining momentum with nearly 500 new partners joining the Conserve/EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge during the 2009 NRA Show! Take the Challenge yourself, either as a business or individual, and start promoting it to your customers as well. More information and the Challenge brochure and can be found at: http://conserve.restaurant.org/challenge.
Water Saving Efforts
Jeffrey Clark, ICF International, presented water-saving best practices as part of a three-person panel that included Don Fisher, manager of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) Food Service Technology Center (FSTC), and Chris Moyer, manager of the NRA Conserve Initiative. The “Save Water, Save Money” presentation emphasized how cutting just 10 percent of water use, through simple conservation measures and smart shopping, is an easy way to achieve considerable cost savings on utility bills.
Wasting water often wastes energy as well (e.g., leaky hot water faucet), which adds costs to three monthly bills: electricity/natural gas, water, and sewer. Therefore, it makes good business sense for restaurants to undertake serious water-saving efforts such as buying WaterSense and ENERGY STAR qualified equipment.
The ENERGY STAR program labels products that meet minimum energy and hot water efficiency specifications (e.g., dishwashers), while EPA’s WaterSense program labels products that meet specific water efficiency and performance criteria (e.g., low flow toilets and faucets). Installing WaterSense labeled restroom appliances, using WaterSense landscaping partners, and purchasing ENERGY STAR qualified dishwashers, ice machines, and steamers, are a few easy ways to reduce your water bill. For more information about WaterSense, visit: www.epa.gov/watersense. In addition, EPA’s free Portfolio Manager benchmarking software is a good way to track these savings and find areas for improvement. (For more on Portfolio Manager, see the Portfolio Manager article below.)
ENERGY STAR Launches Two New Specifications
The new Version 1.0 ENERGY STAR Commercial Griddles and Commercial Ovens specifications were launched at the 2009 NRA Show. An EPA press release distributed after the NRA Show details how ENERGY STAR qualified electric griddles can save businesses hundreds of dollars per year and make significant contributions to a cleaner environment. The Commercial Griddles Version 1.0 became effective on May 8, 2009, and the Commercial Ovens Version 1.0 specification became effective on May 16, 2009. For more information, visit the ENERGY STAR CFS Web site: www.energystar.gov/cfs.
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EPA’s Portfolio Manager: a Tool for Restaurants
Given the economic climate and a decline in the number of people dining out, restaurants are looking at their bottom line now more than ever. In response, restaurateurs are looking for innovative solutions to maximize profits and cut down on costs. EPA offers a free interactive Web tool, called Portfolio Manager, which can help restaurateurs do just that.
This tool allows users to track, manage, and eventually reduce their energy consumption across commercial building spaces, such as warehouses, restaurants, and offices, in a secure online environment. Since decreasing energy and water consumption can directly translate into substantive savings on utility bills, creating a Portfolio Manager account could be your first step toward lowering operating costs. These potential savings are especially significant when operators take into account that restaurants use about 2.5 times more energy per square foot than other commercial buildings.
Managers only have to enter energy consumption and cost data into their Portfolio Manager account to benchmark building energy performance, assess energy management goals over time, and identify strategic opportunities for saving energy and water.
The built-in financial tool within Portfolio Manager allows users to compare cost savings across all commercial buildings in their portfolio (e.g., multiple restaurant locations), while also allowing the user to calculate cost savings for a specific project. To learn more about this free software and open your Portfolio Manager account today, visit: www.energystar.gov/benchmark. If you need help getting started, EPA has developed a Benchmarking Starter Kit to guide users in the right direction.
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Partner Spotlight: AccuTemp Products
 AccuTemp Products, Inc., an ENERGY STAR partner for commercial steamers since the specification became effective in 2003, created a successful business strategy promoting ENERGY STAR qualified and energy-efficient CFS equipment. AccuTemp was not only the first manufacturer to qualify commercial griddles—only a week after the Version 1.0 ENERGY STAR griddles specification became effective—but also went on to  qualify their entire product line. The ENERGY STAR Commercial Griddles Qualified Product List, now available online, lists AccuTemp’s qualified gas and electric steam heated griddle products, representing more than 100 individual models! AccuTemp is now proudly promoting their entire line of steamers and griddles as ENERGY STAR qualified.
For more information on the AccuTemp Products and their new ENERGY STAR qualified equipment, visit www.accutemp.net.
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Now Available: Third Annual $5,000 HCFS Grant!
Hobart, 2008 and 2009 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year, is awarding a $5,000 grant to the individual or company judged to have the best-executed foodservice or food retail sustainability project.
The grant is offered through the Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability (HCFS), which provides thought leadership and counsel for the foodservice industry’s drive for sustainable design and shares case studies highlighting new ideas and accomplishments in foodservice sustainability. Grant applications are available online and must be received by 5:00 p.m. EST August 31, 2009. The recipient will be announced at the 2009 Greenbuild Expo, November 11 to 13, in Phoenix, Arizona.
To learn more and to access the official application, visit: www.hcfsforum.com.
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ENERGY STAR CFS Incentive Guide Now Available!
The ENERGY STAR Program just finalized the 2009 ENERGY STAR CFS Incentive Guide (attached to newsletter e-mail). This useful tool for distributors, retailers, and manufacturers provides an overview of utility-sponsored incentive programs for the eight types of ENERGY STAR qualified CFS equipment (fryers, hot food holding cabinets, refrigerators and freezers, ice machines, dishwashers, steam cookers, griddles, and ovens).
Organized by region of the country, the guide also provides a description of the incentive, utility contact information, and other useful marketing information, making it easy for stakeholders and consumers to take advantage of these valuable opportunities.
The utility incentives highlighted in the CFS Incentive Guide represent a huge sales opportunity for local CFS distributors and retailers working with these utilities. Distributors can leverage these incentives to increase business and customer traffic by employing the following simple two-part strategy:
1) Educate customers on the cost-saving benefits of ENERGY STAR and energy-efficient CFS equipment through in-store signage and an informed and enthusiastic sales team.
2) Take steps to make the incentive application process easier for customers, either by explaining the procedure or assisting customers directly.
Distributors and wholesalers who have followed this strategy in the past have not only augmented sales, but have received high marks with customers for their attentiveness and consideration. The Kessenich’s Ltd. Case Study on the ENERGY STAR Web site has more information and tips on how Kessenich’s Ltd was able to leverage the Wisconsin's Focus on Energy CFS incentives to do exactly that.
Note: This guide includes the best available information at the time of release. Utility incentive programs can change or be discontinued without prior notice. Therefore, please contact your utility before purchasing equipment to ensure incentives are still available.
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AutoQuotes Highlights ENERGY STAR!
 AutoQuotes—the leading electronic catalog for CFS equipment—will highlight ENERGY STAR qualified equipment in the latest version of their software. The new catalog version allows purchasers to easily find and identify ENERGY STAR qualified products when searching the equipment database.
AutoQuotes is distributed to 23,000 licensed users worldwide, including food service equipment manufacturers, dealers, consultants, and representatives.
The ENERGY STAR team hopes that all manufacturers of ENERGY STAR qualified equipment will take advantage of this exciting opportunity to showcase their products.
In order to have your products marked as ENERGY STAR qualified in the catalog, you must indicate that the products are ENERGY STAR qualified models when submitting or updating your information with AutoQuotes. Please ensure all models you are highlighting as ENERGY STAR are listed on the ENERGY STAR Qualified Products List on the individual ENERGY STAR CFS equipment Web sites.
There is no specific data submission form for AutoQuotes; therefore, highlight your ENERGY STAR qualified CFS equipment in whatever method your company normally submits data (e.g., Excel sheet, PDF document, printed price list). Please ensure all data submissions are accurate, since mislabeled equipment in AutoQuotes creates market confusion and is contrary to ENERGY STAR Identity Guidelines. If you have any questions, please contact Jeffrey Clark, ICF International: jclark@icfi.com.
For more information about AutoQuotes, visit: www.aqnet.com.
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ENERGY STAR Announces a New Logo Guidance Document
The ENERGY STAR Program is happy to announce the release of a new document, Brief Introduction to ENERGY STAR Mark Guidelines, which will provide guidance to partners about the proper use of the different ENERGY STAR marks. (Document attached to newsletter e-mail.)
This four-page document describes the different marks, provides visual examples of how to correctly use them, and even demonstrates some common mistakes when using the ENERGY STAR. The guide also contains contact information for requesting a review of marketing and outreach material as well as guidance about reporting ENERGY STAR mark violations.
Please note that the Brief Introduction to ENERGY STAR Mark Guidelines fact sheet is intended to supplement, rather than replace, the full ENERGY STAR Identity Guidelines document. Consequently, please review the ENERGY STAR Identity Guidelines in their entirety, available at www.energystar.gov/logos.
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Green Your Supply Chain with SmartWay
SmartWay, an EPA program geared to helping organizations “green” their supply chains, presents a sustainable alternative for CFS manufacturers and distributors interested in eco-friendly inventory shipping. Vehicles that qualify for the SmartWay mark are the cleanest and most fuel-efficient available in today’s market. Launched in 2004, SmartWay offers environmentally cleaner, more fuel-efficient transportation options. SmartWay Transport is a partnership that can not only save your organization money, but can also display social responsibility as you supply products to customers across the country.
CFS manufacturers can encourage their current transportation service to join the SmartWay program or select a transportation company that has already committed to SmartWay and proven their environmental responsibility. To view the current SmartWay Transport partner list, visit: www.epa.gov/smartway/transport/partner-list/index.htm.
For day-to-day operations and personal transportation, your organization might want consider purchasing SmartWay certified vehicles using the SmartWay Green Vehicle Guide. Certain lending institutions even provide discounted loans for financing SmartWay Certified Vehicles!
For more information about SmartWay, visit: www.epa.gov/smartway.
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2010 ENERGY STAR Award Applications Now Available
Each year, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) honor organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through energy efficiency.
All organizations participating in the ENERGY STAR program are encouraged to apply for a 2010 ENERGY STAR Award. To be considered, an organization must meet the specific eligibility requirements in the award application and submit a complete online application package by midnight EST, December 4, 2009.
For more information, visit: www.energystar.gov/awards.
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ENERGY STAR Training Center
The ENERGY STAR program is excited to announce their plan to revamp the ENERGY STAR Training Center, including resources and training for CFS equipment dealers and restaurateurs. Updates will include new presentations, fact sheets, and other materials. Check back later in the year for new training resources, at: www.energystar.gov/training.
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