ENERGY STAR® Commercial Food Service NewsletterJune 2008 |
In this issue... |
ENERGY STAR Recognizes Focus on Energy for Sustained ExcellenceFocus on Energy, Wisconsin’s energy efficiency and renewable energy initiative, works with Wisconsin Since 2006, Focus on Energy has offered incentives for ENERGY STAR qualified commercial kitchen equipment. Current incentives for ENERGY STAR qualified equipment include: steam cookers ($100 per pan); fryers ($150 per frypot for electric and $300 per frypot for gas); hot food holding cabinets ($300 per unit); and commercial refrigerators and freezers ($75 per unit). Customers purchasing two pieces of qualifying equipment can receive a $100 bonus, and a bonus of $300 for purchases of three or more pieces of qualifying equipment. Focus on Energy recently announced increased incentives for ENERGY STAR qualified ice machines, offering a bonus of $50 to $100 for equipment meeting ENERGY STAR guidelines, on top of a base incentive of $100 to $400 for equipment meeting Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) Tier 1 criteria. With increased incentives from Focus on Energy for the food service industry taking effect in mid-2007, the program has grown dramatically. Focus on Energy rebates for these businesses nearly doubled from 2006 to 2007! For more information about Focus on Energy and incentives available for the food service industry, call 800.762.7077 or visit their Web site. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY STAR Sightings at the National Restaurant Association Show The ENERGY STAR team recently traveled to Chicago for the 2008 NRA Show, held May 17–20, 2008. The conference was a whirlwind of booths, education sessions, and networking opportunities for the team and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. The ENERGY STAR team spent many hours on the showroom floor, admiring how our ENERGY STAR Partners proudly displayed the ENERGY STAR on their merchandise and in their booths. On the show’s opening day, Kate Lewis, of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Richard Young, of the FSTC, gave a extremely well received presentation to nearly 100 individuals on the Five
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY STAR Product Development Update Commercial Refrigerators & Freezers On May 19, 2008, commercial refrigerator and freezer manufacturers and other industry stakeholders took part in a meeting hosted by the EPA at the NRA Show in Chicago. The purpose of the meeting was for EPA to get input on issues that were raised by stakeholders in response to the Draft 1 Version 2.0 ENERGY STAR commercial refrigerators and freezers specification, which was distributed in February 2008. Rachel Schmeltz, EPA, All materials related to this specification revision process are available on EPA’s ENERGY STAR Commercial Refrigerators and Freezers product development Web site. Please contact Bijit Kundu, ICF International, or Rachel Schmeltz, EPA, with any questions. Ovens & Griddles EPA will be initiating an ENERGY STAR specification development process for ovens. The intent is to look at the oven category broadly then narrow the list of eligible categories based on available, rigorous test procedures and energy performance data. Additionally, EPA is continuing to work with manufacturers to determine whether an ENERGY STAR specification for griddles is feasible. A decision will be make over the next several weeks. Partners and other stakeholders can read the most up-to-date information and learn more about the product development process at EPA’s ENERGY STAR product development Web site. One of the main goals of the ENERGY STAR program is to develop performance-based specifications that determine the most efficient products in a particular category. Products that meet these specifications earn the ENERGY STAR label. To develop ENERGY STAR product specifications, EPA and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) use a systematic process that relies on rigorous market, engineering, and pollution savings analyses as well as input from industry stakeholders. This process ensures that the ENERGY STAR: (1) identifies products where large gains in energy efficiency and pollution reduction can be cost-effectively realized, and (2) can play an influential role to expand the market for these products. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency Offers Rebates for ENERGY STAR Commercial Dishwashers and Ice Machines Expanding the comprehensive commercial food service initiative that the Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA) launched in 2007, SMMPA members are now offering rebates to their customers for ENERGY STAR qualified commercial dishwashers and ice machines. Undercounter dishwashers qualify for a $300 rebate, while single tank door models can earn a $600 rebate. Single tank conveyor models can earn a $800 rebate, and multiple tank conveyor models can earn a $1,000 rebate. The rebate for commercial ice SMMPA is a not-for-profit generation and transmission company providing reliable wholesale electricity to its 18 municipal utility members throughout Minnesota. SMMPA also develops innovative products and services for members to help their 109,000 retail customers use energy wisely. SMMPA’s members include:
Please view the map on the SMMPA Web site to see where each member utility is located. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENERGY STAR Partner Requirements Reminders: Program Contact Updates, Brand Integrity, Product ListingsENERGY STAR is a voluntary program co-sponsored by EPA and DOE. Manufacturers sign a Partnership Agreement and commit to: using the ENERGY STAR label correctly, providing Unit Shipment Data (USD) on annual basis, and qualifying a product within a year of signing. Additionally, Partners must notify EPA of a change in the designated responsible party or contacts within 30 days. Program contacts are vital to ensuring consistent correspondence with EPA, especially in the case of USD requests, because they fulfill the program requirement of maintaining an active ENERGY STAR primary contact.
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The National Restaurant Association Launches a New Environmental Initiative: Conserve The National Restaurant Association (NRA) publicly announced on May 19, 2008, its commitment to environmental protection and energy efficiency with a new program titled the Conserve Initiative. The Conserve Initiative, which Conserve will act as a clearinghouse of information and resources that restaurateurs can use to improve the environmental sustainability of all aspects of their business: from energy consumption to recyclable packaging to green construction. These resources are housed on Conserve’s Web site, often displaying the information in an innovative way. For example, one interesting resource is an interactive Virtual Green Restaurant that outlines concise steps to improve the sustainability of any section of a restaurant (e.g., kitchen, bar, seating area). A restaurateur can click on a specific section of the virtual restaurant and Viola! A list of simple sustainability steps appears that the restaurateur can implement. Other resources on the Web site include: federal and state tax breaks and rebates, tips on water conservation, and even link to the latest ENERGY STAR Commercial Food Service (CFS) newsletter! NRA’s conservation efforts are certainly a positive step towards improving the environmental stewardship of the restaurant industry. This increased awareness is extremely important because restaurants are the retail world’s largest energy user. According to Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Food Service and Technology Center (FSTC), restaurants consume almost five times more energy per square foot than any other type of commercial building as well as emitting, on average, 490 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per restaurant per year. With the launching of the Conserve Initiative, it is clear that NRA has refocused its efforts toward improving the environmental sustainability of the restaurant industry and the ENERGY STAR team looks forward to working closely with the Conserve Initiative to achieve that goal.
------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability Announces 2nd Annual Contest for the 2008 Best Foodservice or Food Retail Sustainability Program For the second consecutive year, the Hobart Center for Foodservice Sustainability (HCFS) is awarding a $5,000 grant to the individual or company judged to have the best-executed “In addition to clear planning and implementation, the HCFS seeks best practices from sustainability programs in foodservice and food retail that showcase a strong return on investment,” said Rick Cartwright, vice president and general manager of retail systems, ITW Food Equipment Group and a Fellow with the HCFS. “The HCFS grant recipient serves as a prime example for food service and food retail in the commitment made to sustainability programs that improve the environment and make economic sense.” Applicants can enter by submitting a case study of 10 or fewer pages demonstrating how their program addresses sustainability challenges such as: reducing energy/water use; decreasing wastewater or solid waste; implementing farm-to-fork programs; or combining programs together in innovative ways. All submissions must be received by 5 p.m. EST on August 29, 2008, and will be judged by the HCFS Fellows. The HCFS award recipient will use the proceeds to invest in additional sustainability efforts. The individual and/or company honored will be selected to join the HCFS Fellows and assist in future initiatives. Dickinson College, a liberal arts school in Carlisle, PA, was the first-ever HCFS grant recipient in 2007. Among its many sustainability programs and efforts, Dickinson established the Dickinson College Farm as a collaborative effort between the college’s dining services staff, faculty, and students and established initiatives to reduce waste, water, and energy use at the college. The HCFS provides thought leadership and counsel on sustainable design efforts and innovation for the foodservice industry. Designed as a resource hub, the HCFS offers forums allowing foodservice and food retail operations, architects, designers and consultants to collaborate with Hobart in developing new sustainability ideas and solutions while building economic value for the end user. The HCFS is led by five Fellows who are experts in sustainability and seek to foster new thinking and approaches to sustainability solutions. In addition to Rick Cartwright, the four other Fellows include: Michael Berning, director of sustainable design and principal, Heapy Engineering LLP; Keith Martin, director of dining services at Dickinson College; John Turenne, founder and president of Sustainable Food Systems; and Richard Young, senior engineer/director of education, Food Service Technology Center. To learn more or to access the official application, click here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and East Bay Restaurant Supply Hold "Green" Open House From April 7–9, 2008, East Bay Restaurant Supply hosted its annual open house with a “go green” theme. The open house and sale featured ENERGY STAR qualified and energy-efficient commercial food service equipment. Early on in the planning for their open house East Bay In addition to PG&E's booth, East Bay Restaurant Supply had an entire section of their warehouse set up to promote energy-efficient products. East Bay Restaurant Supply, equipment manufacturers, and PG&E all provided Point of Sale (POS) materials that highlight energy-efficient equipment; these POS materials included banners, PG&E cling stickers, table tents, and poster boards. East Bay Restaurant Supply sales personnel also wore large buttons that read, “Ask me about PG&E rebates on qualifying equipment.” A week before the event, PG&E was given the opportunity to train all of East Bays Restaurant Supply’s inside sales staff about PG&E’s commercial food service programs. To advertise, the open house flyers were mailed to 40,000 of
their commercial food service customers. The event flyers heavily promoted ENERGY STAR qualifying equipment and incorporated the PG&E rebate value into the equipment's net sales price. East Bay Restaurant Supply is also very interested in continuing their energy efficiency education programs. For example, two days after the open house event, PG&E provided training to all 23 of East Bay Restaurant Supply's northern California outside sales people about the PG&E programs so that they could promote these programs on an ongoing basis. Additionally, East Bay Restaurant Supply is planning to conduct their next monthly sales meeting at PG&E’s Food Service Technology Center to get additional information on energy efficiency and PG&E’s programs, as well as a tour of the facility where testing of the equipment occurs.
------------------------------------------------------------------------- Efficiency Vermont Offers Customized Rebates on ENERGY STAR Qualified Products Efficiency Vermont is offering customized rebates on ENERGY STAR qualified commercial food Efficiency Vermont also provides industry specific information through their resources library. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- National Grid Launches New ENERGY STAR Commercial Food Incentives National Grid has launched incentives for ENERGY STAR qualified CFS products. National Grid’s CFS incentives are offered through the company's New York state service territory as well as through the GasNetworks collaborative in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island. The program includes $1,000 incentive for small and large, high efficiency or ENERGY STAR qualified gas fired fryers. Additionally, they offer National Grid plans to partner with ENERGY STAR and the industry to promote their incentives. National Grid also plans to leverage their account managers in the field to communicate their offerings to commercial customers through the ENERGY STAR Web site, trade shows, dealer incentives, and product representatives. For more information, please visit the GasNetworks Web site or learn more about the specific rebate details here.
Look for the next Commercial Food Service Newsletter in September! |
residents and businesses to manage rising energy costs, promote in-state economic development, and control the state's growing demand for electricity and natural gas. In recognition of Focus on Energy’s continued excellence in energy efficiency program delivery, the program has received its third ENERGY STAR Award for Sustained Excellence. Focus on Energy’s successful commercial food service initiative was a key aspect of this recognition.
Things Operators Must Know About Energy Efficiency. In addition to speaking with and visiting our Partners, the ENERGY STAR team held a tremendously successful refrigerator and freezer specification meeting. The ENERGY STAR team would like to thank all of our Partners that participated in this meeting; your time, energy, and astute comments will greatly enhanced the new ENERGY STAR specification. (For more information on the meeting, please see the article 
The ENERGY STAR team wrapped up its visit to the NRA Show with a stop at the Kitchen Innovations pavilion. The team would like to congratulate two ENERGY STAR Partners for winning 2008 Kitchen Innovations (KI) awards for their 
ENERGY STAR qualified products: Enodis for their Frymaster Protector Fryer and Market Forge Industries for their Eco Tech Plus™ Steamer. KI winners were selected from many applications, based on their uniqueness and most significant benefits they deliver to foodservice operators. For more information on KI and the winners, please visit 
facilitated the discussion and walked the participants through the key issues brought to EPA’s attention. The discussions that took place at the meeting were very productive and will be helpful in the development of the Version 2.0 specification. 
makers varies based on the ice harvest rate. Models that have earned the ENERGY STAR (equivalent to CEE Tier II specifications) are eligible for a rebate of $150 to $400, while models that meet CEE Tier I specifications are eligible for a rebate of $100 to $300. Additional information is available 
was funded by a grant from the Turner Foundation, urges restaurant owners and operators to take steps, both large and small, to improve restaurants’ environmental and business performance through cost-effective actions. According to the initiative’s Web site (
food service or food retail sustainability project of the year. Submissions are currently being accepted, and the recipient will be announced at the 2008 Greenbuild Expo in Boston, MA, November 19–21, 2008. 
Restaurant Supply asked PG&E for help in lining up organizations to support the green theme. As a result, PG&E: (1) staffed a booth to educate customers about rebates and energy efficiency, and (2) invited Waste Management (recycling & composting programs) and Alameda Green Business Association (Green Business Programs) to tell the “going green” story. 
service equipment. Distributors can leverage these rebates by working closely with Efficiency Vermont during the pricing process and before installating ENERGY STAR qualified equipment. For more information please visit their 
$1,000 rebate on qualified ENERGY STAR gas fired steam cookers. Within the next six months they hope to offer a full line of CFS product incentives, which might include convection ovens, griddles, and broilers. For more information, visit: www.energystar.gov/cfs |
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