Major Conservation Programs & Initiatives

The California Energy Commission's Public Programs Office
The California Energy Commission's Public Programs Office develops programs that promote energy efficiency in the local government, schools, hospitals, agricultural, industrial, and water treatment sectors of California.
CHEERS
CHEERS stands for Consumer Home Energy Efficiency Rating System. It is a method to determine the energy efficiency of your home and show you how to save on your utility bills. CHEERS is a multi-state, nonprofit organization, based in Costa Mesa, California. CHEERS is supported by a coalition of utilities, financial organizations, the building and housing industry along with environmental groups.
Clean Cities Program
The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy's Clean Cities Program is to advance the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that contribute to the reduction of petroleum consumption. Clean Cities carries out this mission through a network of more than 80 volunteer coalitions, which develop public/private partnerships to promote alternative fuels and vehicles, fuel blends, fuel economy, hybrid vehicles, and idle reduction.
Florida Building Energy-Efficiency Rating System
In 1993 the Florida legislature enacted the Florida Building Energy-Efficiency Rating System Act. The first of its kind in the nation, this Act required the Department of Community Affairs to develop, adopt, and implement uniform, statewide energy rating systems for virtually all types of Florida buildings. The site provides information about the rating system for residential and commercial buildings as well as contact information.
FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies (FCVT) Program
The U.S. Department of Energy's FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies (FCVT) Program is developing more energy efficient and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies that will enable America to use less petroleum.
eeBuildings
The site allows building owners and managers in developing countries to tap into resources from EPA's long-running domestic energy-efficiency programs, such as ENERGY STAR®.
GoodCents
The GoodCents name has been synonymous with energy efficient and quality home construction for nearly 20 years in 30 states across the country. GoodCents programs are traditionally administered by utility companies and specify standards to which a home must be built to achieve certification as a GoodCents Home.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings. Members of the U.S. Green Building Council representing all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue to contribute to its evolution.
Nordlicht
Nordlicht (northern lights) is a public campaign for climate protection by energy saving and traffic reduction. With a strategy of Participative Social Marketing we try to stimulate citizen activity against greenhouse effect and global warming.
New York Energy Smart Program
Energy efficiency resources for New York state residents.
Rebuild America
Rebuild America is a multi-year U. S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) program that helps community and regional partnerships improve commercial and multifamily building energy efficiency. Partnerships can be led by anyone. DOE provides partnerships with technical and financial assistance to help you carry out energy efficiency retrofits.
The Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP)
The Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP), sponsored by a coalition of public interest nonprofit groups, government agencies, and other organizations in the energy efficiency field, is designed to give consumers and businesses information they need to make use of the federal income tax incentives for energy efficient products and technologies passed by Congress as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and subsequently amended several times.
Texas LoanSTAR Program
The LoanSTAR program is Texas' own program designed to "Save Taxes And Resources" by monitoring energy use and recommending energy-saving retrofits. In 1988, the Texas Governor's Energy Office (now known as the State Energy Conservation Office) received approval from the U. S. Department of Energy to establish a statewide retrofit demonstration program. The initial capital came from oil overcharge funds. The LoanSTAR program is designed to demonstrate commercially available, energy efficient, retrofit technologies and techniques. Part of the approved DOE program includes monitoring the buildings to determine the effectiveness of the conservation retrofits. The LoanSTAR Consortium is responsible for metering the buildings and analyzing the energy savings. LoanSTAR has already generated $15 million in savings (as of January 1995) for Texas taxpayers, and the program is projected to save another $250 million over the next 20 years.
US/DOE Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP)
The federal government is the largest energy consumer in the nation. It used 1.92 quadrillion Btu (quads) of energy in fiscal year (FY) 1991, equal to 2.4% of all primary energy consumption in the United States at a cost of $11.28 billion. Federal energy consumption is widely dispersed, covering more than 500,000 buildings at 8,000 locations worldwide. FEMP provides direction, guidance, and assistance to federal agencies in planning and implementing energy management programs that will improve the energy efficiency and fuel flexibility of the federal infrastructure.
U.S. EPA/DOE ENERGY STAR® Program
ENERGY STAR® is a voluntary partnership among the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), product manufacturers, local utilities, home builders, retailers, and businesses. ENERGY STAR® encourages energy efficiency in products, appliances, homes, offices, and other buildings. Parters help promote energy efficiency by labeling products & buildings with the ENERGY STAR® logo, and educating consumers about the unique benefits of energy efficiency. In addition to promoting efficiency, ENERGY STAR® also offers tools to decrease operating costs, reduce air pollution, and save money for large and small businesses and organizations.

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