That little blue Energy Star logo affixed to energy-efficient home appliances is at risk of being cut by the Environmental Protection Agency, and trade and consumer organizations are pleading with the Trump administration to save it. Their actions are the latest in a slew of letters and pronouncements from professional organizations asking the federal government not to cut programs and tax credits.
The Energy Star program, which was created by the EPA and Department of Energy under President George H.W. Bush, sets energy-efficiency standards for home appliances. In turn, those that meet the standards can advertise with the program’s logo. Earlier this month, CNN reported that the EPA was planning to shut down Energy Star, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has now said that he hopes to privatize the program.
In response to the news that Energy Star might be shuttered, Consumer Reports, a nonprofit product testing organization, urged the EPA to “find a way to preserve” it.
“If this popular program goes away, it would be a big loss for the millions of consumers who’ve come to recognize and trust the label every time they shop for major products and appliances,” Consumer Reports’ associate director for product sustainability, research, and testing Shanika Whitehurst said in a statement. “The loss would hit especially hard at a time when people are dealing with unpredictable energy bills and trying to cut expenses.”
Consumer Reports also cited a March 2025 study it conducted, stating that 87% of the 2,291 people surveyed agreed that “home appliances for sale in the US should be required to meet minimum levels of energy efficiency.” A recent Retail Brew survey similarly found that nearly 85% of readers surveyed don’t want Energy Star shut down.
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Other professional organizations are taking different avenues to pressure the federal government to protect Energy Star. Twelve major real estate and building associations, including The Real Estate Roundtable and American Hotel & Lodging Association, wrote a letter to Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright expressing their support for Energy Star and tied the appliance standards program to the Trump administration’s “all of the above” energy approach.
“Real estate assets rely on the Energy Star buildings program. Energy Star helps the real estate industry benchmark its energy use,” the letter said. “We look forward to working with DOE under your stewardship to achieve the Trump administration’s ‘all of the above’ plan to propel America’s energy dominance, independence, competitiveness, and profitability.”
Additionally, the US Green Building Council is asking its members and the public to contact their congressional representatives and ask them to block the Trump administration’s proposal to end the program—it’s even created a form, phone scripts, and email templates for participants to use.
“While we cannot predict what will happen next, we have the opportunity today to collectively voice our support for the Energy Star program,” the council said about its campaign. “Congress must hear loud and clear from this community that this proposal is unacceptable if we are to succeed in protecting it.”