UL Provides Education, Training Around New ENERGY STAR® Requirements

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL), a global leader in environmental evaluation and certification, announces a series of initiatives to help manufacturers prepare for the new requirements in the ENERGY STAR® program. As companies begin the process of choosing a certification body and preparing to work with an organization to test products to ENERGY STAR requirements, UL is offering a free webinar series, podcast and micro-site to help keep manufacturers informed of any new changes, as well as best practices to navigate the certification process.

Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that, effective January 1, 2011, any product seeking participation in the federal ENERGY STAR program is required to have their energy performance evaluated by a certification body prior to product labeling, and undergo post-market verification testing to ensure continued compliance.

"UL is committed to providing product manufacturers, engineers and designers with various educational resources on the latest enhancements to the ENERGY STAR program, in addition to its role of supporting the EPA and the Department of Energy in strengthening the program's reputation for energy performance," said Stephen Wenc, president of UL Environment. "These efforts aim to help manufacturers identify the new EPA requirements and understand compliance options that best fit their company's needs."

The webinar series, which launched November 18, 2010, covers various topics including:  new EPA requirements; challenges and best practices in qualification and compliance; and the verification process for both new and existing ENERGY STAR products.  More information on UL training and education resources can be found at the ENERGY STAR micro-site.

As an official EPA-recognized certification body, UL has the most comprehensive scope for ENERGY STAR with EPA-recognized testing laboratories around the world that can perform qualification and verification testing on 30 ENERGY STAR product categories, and is an EPA-recognized Certification Body for 35 products.

ENERGY STAR, established in 1992 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants through more efficient use of energy, is intended to help consumers identify and purchase energy-efficient products(1).  Products meeting published efficiency levels earn the right to display the distinctive ENERGY STAR mark.  According to the EPA, the use of ENERGY STAR products saved U.S. consumers $17 billion in energy costs in 2009(2).

To view UL's ENERGY STAR micro-site, please visit: www.ul.com/energystar. Or, to view the webinar series, visit: http://www.uluniversity.us/catalog/display.resource.aspx?resourceid=303145

For more information about UL's energy efficiency services, please visit: http://www.ulenvironment.com

About Underwriters Laboratories

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 20 billion UL Marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers' products each year. UL's worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 64 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 98 countries. For more information, visit: http://www.ul.com/newsroom

(1) http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_how_earn

(2) http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/annualreports/2009_achievements.pdf

SOURCE Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.