What is Energy Star [Home]
ENERGY STAR is an international standard for energy-efficient electronic equipment. It was created by the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) in 1992 and has now been adopted by several countries around the world, including Canada, Japan, Taiwan(ROC), Australia, Newzealand, EU etc.
In Taiwan, Environment Protection Agency are cooperating through the National ENERGY STAR Program to encourage the use of energy-efficient equipment in business.
Potential for savings
If the energy-saving features were activated on all ENERGY STAR compliant office equipment (including computers, scaners, monitors, printers, copiers, fax etc.) in Taiwan(ROC), this would:
Climate Change
As the emissions of greenhouse gases may result in extreme global climate change and significant impacts to the environment, many countries are taking various actions to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, in the hope of mitigating the effects of global warming. Of the various greenhouse gases released from human activities, carbon dioxide generated through the burning of fossil fuels to generate energy plays the most important role, and it is natural that the most effective greenhouse gas reduction measures take the form of energy efficiency or energy conservation projects.
In 1992, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) introduced ENERGY STAR as a voluntary labeling program designed to identify and promote energy-efficient products, through its partnerships with product manufacturers and retailers. US-EPA also partnered with the US Department of Energy in 1996 to promote the ENERGY STAR label, with each agency taking responsibility for particular product categories. At present, the ENERGY STAR program covers products in the following ten categories: lighting, buildings, small business, home, office products, transformers, residential heating and cooling equipment, exit signs, residential light fixtures, and TV/VCR.
International Cooperation
Due to its successful implementation in the US since 1992, the ENERGY STAR label has become increasingly recognized internationally as the label for energy-efficient products. Many countries and regions, such as European Union, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Japan, have also worked with US-EPA to introduce the ENERGY STAR program.
The European Union has reached an agreement with the US-EPA to introduce the ENERGY STAR Office Products Program, and to form a technical committee to jointly develop the product criteria. Based on the agreement, European products meeting the ENERGY STAR criteria will be eligible for the ENERGY STAR label.
Japan has the most successful ENERGY STAR program outside of US. Since its introduction of ENERGY STAR Office Products Program, which includes the computer, monitor, fax, scanner and multifunction device products, in October 1995, 7443 products from 65 manufacturers carry the ENERGY STAR label as of August 1999.
The ROC-EPA and US-EPA entered into “Sino-US Environmental Technology Cooperation Agreement Implementation Measures No. 4” in July 1997. The aforementioned Measures include a task on introduction of ENERGY STAR program to Taiwan, which authorized ROC-EPA to introduce and administer the ENERGY STAR program in Taiwan.
From August 1998 to December 2000, the ROC-EPA implemented the “ENERGY STAR program promotion project”, in order to achieve the following objectives: (1) Introduce ENERGY STAR program to Taiwan and establish its operation mechanism; (2) Promote ENERGY STAR label, encourage partner participation and increase consumer awareness of ENERGY STAR labeled products; (3) Evaluate the energy conservation and greenhouse gas emission reduction benefits achieved through implementation of ENERGY STAR program.
Presently, a follow-up project (May-December, 2001) is being implemented to further promote the ENERGY STAR label in Taiwan. The following three objectives are to be achieved in the present project: (1) Introduce ENERGY STAR Buildings Program and its demonstration project as part of the Sino-US cooperation program; (2) Continue to administer ENERGY STAR Office Products Program in Taiwan; (3) Promote energy conservation measures and increase consumers’ awareness of ENERGY STAR labeled products. It is hoped that both the operation mechanism and implementation experience of ENERGY STAR in the US can be introduced and established through the implementation of this project.
With the ENERGY STAR program in place in Taiwan, the Taiwanese manufacturers will be encouraged to manufacture products in compliance with the energy-efficient criteria and be able to apply for the use of ENERGY STAR label in Taiwan. The goals of increase product and industrial energy efficiency, reduce energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, can also be accomplished through implementation of ENERGY STAR program.