ENERGY STAR Brand Guidelines: A Guide for Partners

Introduction

These guidelines outline the implementation of a strong and distinctive identity for ENERGY STAR®. Whether you are labeling a product, home, building, or plant that has earned the ENERGY STAR, planning a new outreach campaign, or communicating your organization’s environmental commitment, these guidelines are designed to help you make the most of your ENERGY STAR partnership while protecting the value of the brand. Ensuring that the ENERGY STAR marks are property used protects every partner’s investment in the program and consumer confidence in the ENERGY STAR brand.

Trademark Notice

ENERGY STAR and the ENERGY STAR mark are registered trademarks owned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA actively monitors proper use of the ENERGY STAR name and marks. To report potential trademark violations, please email us at: logomisuse@energystar.gov.

Review Policy: To help avoid inadvertent misuse of the ENERGY STAR marks, the EPA strongly recommends that partners submit any promotional efforts that feature ENERGY STAR for review prior to final production or printing, particularly if the marks are being used in a new way. Materials will be reviewed for consistency with these guidelines. Submit your materials for review or ask a question: logo@energystar.gov.

General Guidelines and Prohibitions

The ENERGY STAR program is a partnership between private and public sector organizations and the federal government. Through this partnership, organizations can use the ENERGY STAR name and marks—owned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—to identify and promote their certified products, homes, buildings, or plants, or to highlight their partnership with EPA and commitment to energy efficiency.

• Usage Rights: 
  In most cases, organizations must sign a Partnership Agreement and be an active partner in the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program to use these marks. If you have questions about your partnership status, check the EPA’s ENERGY STAR Partner List or contact your account manager. In addition to the specific guidelines for each mark, organizations must abide by the following general guidelines for the use of the ENERGY STAR name and all forms of its marks. 

  Partners and other authorized organizations are responsible for their own proper use of the ENERGY STAR marks, as well as use by their representatives, such as ad agencies, contractors, and companies that produce promotional items on their behalf.

• Where to Download Marks:
  Partners can access marks by logging in to their My ENERGY STAR Account (MESA). 
• General Prohibitions:
  • Neither the marks, nor any portion thereof, nor any reference to the ENERGY STAR name may be used in an organization’s name or logo, product name or logo, service name or logo, website title or domain name, or social media account name, handle, or profile imagery.
  • The ENERGY STAR name and marks may never be used in any manner that would imply EPA or ENERGY STAR endorsement or approval of an organization, its products, or its services.
  • The marks may never be associated with products, homes, or buildings that are not ENERGY STAR certified.
  • The marks may not be used in a manner that would disparage ENERGY STAR, the EPA, or any other entity.
• General Guidelines for ENERGY STAR Marks, Logos, and Graphics

  • Clear space. The EPA requires that a clear space of .333 (1/3) the height of the graphic box within the mark should surround the mark at all times. No other graphic elements, such as text or images, can appear in this area. 

    

  • Minimum size. The lettering inside the marks must remain legible when reproduced for print or electronic formats. For the ENERGY STAR certification mark and vertical treatments of other marks, do not resize smaller than 1/2” wide (print) and 50 pixels wide (digital). For horizontal treatments of marks, ensure that all lettering is at least 2mm tall.

    

  • Color variations. The primary ENERGY STAR marks are 100% cyan (hex color: #00AEEF) and white. If production constraints make it impossible to use the cyan mark, the black and white or reversed-out white versions may be used. The marks should not appear as an outline (i.e., with the colors reversed).

    

• Alterations. The marks may not be altered, rotated, cut apart, or otherwise distorted. The marks may be resized, but the proportions must be maintained. Note the following examples:
  1. Don’t change the colors of the mark.
  2. Don’t lose the mark’s proportions.
  3. Don’t add effects.
  4. Don’t rotate.
  5. Don’t use the old logo.
  6. Don’t add your own text within the clear space area.
  7. Don’t add your own border.
  8. Don’t lose the white horizontal rule.
  9. Don’t lose the white outline.
  10. Don’t delete any elements of the mark.

  11. Don’t rearrange the elements of the mark.

      

• General Guidelines for the ENERGY STAR Word Mark 
  • The ENERGY STAR name should always appear in all capital letters and as two words. 
  • The registration symbol ® must be used the first time the words “ENERGY STAR” appear, and the ® symbol should then be repeated in a document for each chapter title or Web page.
  • The ® symbol should always be in superscript.
  • There should be no space between the word “STAR” and the ® symbol.
• Social Media Guidelines
  • Attribute the EPA and ENERGY STAR where relevant when sharing ENERGY STAR content, visuals, and other materials. Tag @EPA or @ENERGYSTAR (no space).
  • Do not use ENERGY STAR hashtags or ENERGY STAR conversation links in association with products, homes, or buildings that have not earned the ENERGY STAR.
  • Do not use “ENERGY STAR” to create a page identity, group, handle, or URL.
  • Do not use defamatory language such as obscenities, indecencies, or profanities. For more guidance on appropriate versus inappropriate comments, please see our social media commenting policy under the “About” section of our Facebook page.
  • Do not submit copyrighted or other proprietary material in any form on the ENERGY STAR social media channels without clearly indicating receiving permission to do so.