The Media Room

2009/48 (a)

BACKGROUNDER

ENERGY STAR® 2009 Market Transformation Award Winners

CATEGORY: MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR

Whirlpool Canada

Whirlpool Canada manages all aspects of its business to effectively use and preserve natural resources — a corporate philosophy that has made the company a perennial leader in the design and manufacture of ENERGY STAR-qualified products. Despite the downturn in overall appliance sales in Canada in 2008, Whirlpool reported significant increases in shipments of ENERGY STAR-qualified clothes washers, dishwashers and refrigerators.

In 2008, 66 percent of Whirlpool Canada products were ENERGY STAR-qualified, an increase of 7.4 percent over the previous year. Whirlpool-owned brands accounted for 57 percent of industry growth in shipments of ENERGY STAR-qualified dishwashers, 43 percent of growth in shipments of ENERGY STAR-qualified washers, and 25 percent of growth in shipments of ENERGY STAR-qualified refrigerators.

Whirlpool continues to design products that have minimal impact on the environment while making life easier for consumers, including the introduction of two lines of ENERGY STAR-qualified front-loading washers that meet the Consortium for Energy Efficiency’s (CEE) stringent Tier 3 requirements for energy efficiency, as well as the first CEE Tier 3 ENERGY STAR-qualified top-loading washers in the industry. Whirlpool has also developed new ENERGY STAR-qualified refrigerators and dishwashers for the Canadian market.

CATEGORY: RETAILER OF THE YEAR

Sears Canada Inc.

Sears Canada strives to be a leader in making energy-efficient products available to Canadians. With its network of 198 corporate stores, 187 dealer stores, 44 home improvement showrooms, more than 1,850 catalogue merchandise pick-up locations, online shopping and a nationwide home maintenance, repair and installation network, Sears Canada reaches all corners of the country. It proudly advertises, displays, sells, installs and maintains ENERGY STAR-qualified products across all of these channels.

Sears carries an impressive range of ENERGY STAR-qualified products, from major household appliances to home electronics. More than 60 percent of all major appliances sold by Sears Canada are ENERGY STAR-qualified.

ENERGY STAR-qualified products often figure prominently in weekly Sears flyers distributed to households across Canada. The company also collaborates with utilities and other partners to ensure that consumers know about and take advantage of rebate offers. For example, in 2008 Sears collaborated with BC Hydro to promote ENERGY STAR-qualified products during Power Smart Month. Sears Canada also supports the Ontario Power Authority’s “Every Kilowatt Counts” campaign, which promotes the purchase of ENERGY STAR-qualified products.

As a partner in the ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes initiative, Sears Canada will rebate $150 of the cost of a home energy evaluation in the form of a credit toward the purchase of ENERGY STAR-qualified products.

CATEGORY: UTILITY OF THE YEAR – PROVINCIAL

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro)

Increasing customer awareness, acceptance and adoption of ENERGY STAR-qualified products was a central theme in five major programs delivered by BC Hydro’s Power Smart initiative in 2008, all designed to continue to transform the market toward increased energy efficiency.

The ENERGY STAR Appliance Rebate Program offered residential customers a mail-in rebate worth $25–$100 when they purchased an ENERGY STAR-qualified clothes washer, freezer or refrigerator.
The ENERGY STAR Lighting Program encouraged retail and manufacturing partners to discount the price of ENERGY STAR-qualified lights and fixtures through buy-downs and incentives.
The ENERGY STAR Windows Program engaged manufacturers in promoting sales of ENERGY STAR-qualified windows.
The Holiday LED Lighting Program encouraged consumers to replace incandescent seasonal lights with energy-efficient seasonal LEDs by donating $2 per recycled string to the BC Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund.
The Power Smart New Home Program offered builders and developers incentives for including ENERGY STAR-qualified appliances and lighting products in their new homes.

CATEGORY: UTILITY OF THE YEAR – REGIONAL

London Hydro

London Hydro operates with a set of comprehensive and highly successful programs designed to improve the energy efficiency of lighting among both residential and commercial customers.

With funding support from the provincial Electricity Retrofit Incentive Program (ERIP), London Hydro developed an incentive program to improve market penetration of ENERGY STAR-qualified GU-24 base lighting fixtures in multi-unit residential buildings (MURBs). Combined with the utility’s CFL for Incandescent Exchange Program, this initiative made ENERGY STAR-qualified CFLs available to more than 66,000 MURB residents. The two initiatives also combined to reduce the cost of ENERGY STAR-qualified lighting products.

Commercial clients were also targeted in 2008. London Hydro was particularly successful in encouraging lighting upgrades in the hospitality sector, including a shift to ENERGY STAR-qualified CFLs and energy-efficient exit signs. The utility also developed a curriculum-based energy conservation program for Grade 5 students, including teacher training and associated classroom materials.

London Hydro’s ERIP goal for 2008 was to reduce demand for electricity by 570 kW. The measures implemented resulted in a reduction of 11,300 kW — almost 20 times the target.

London Hydro ensures that each initiative is tied to another in some fashion. The utility’s programs to promote ENERGY STAR-qualified lighting, for example, build on the success of the Chill Out – London appliance retirement and recycling program, which earned the utility its first ENERGY STAR award in 2007.

CATEGORY: PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR – SPECIFIC PRODUCT

Modern

Based in Powell River, B.C., Modern offers a range of home improvement services but specializes in window manufacturing and supply. After becoming certified as a manufacturer of ENERGY STAR-qualified windows in 2007, Modern quickly set about promoting this achievement and the benefits of its ENERGY STAR-qualified products.

Modern regularly undertakes marketing campaigns to promote the company and its products. Two 2008 campaigns — “Great Taste in Windows” and “Put Cold on Hold” — were structured to showcase Modern’s ENERGY STAR certification and qualified products.

A third campaign was delivered in 2008 in conjunction with the opening of Modern’s new factory. Titled “New Class,” this marketing effort was designed specifically to educate consumers about the benefits of choosing ENERGY STAR-qualified windows.

Modern backs up its marketing campaigns, ensuring that sales staff are kept up to date on the latest ENERGY STAR developments and qualified products coming out of its factory, allowing them to be knowledgeable and confident when speaking to customers.

From price reductions for ENERGY STAR-qualified windows to campaign themes and colours built around the ENERGY STAR logo, Modern’s promotional efforts have been instrumental in introducing ENERGY STAR to purchasers of locally produced windows on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.

CATEGORY: PARTICIPANT OF THE YEAR

JELD-WEN Windows & Doors

JELD-WEN Windows & Doors is one of the largest manufacturers of windows and doors in the world, and proudly counts itself among the most innovative. The company continuously invests in research and development of new technologies to meet the needs of Canadian consumers.

JELD-WEN strives to provide customers with the information they need to make choices that save energy and money, and are good for the environment. The benefits of ENERGY STAR-qualified fenestration products are promoted through point-of-sale information in retail outlets, as well as through product brochures that are made available to builders, distributors and individual homeowners. Information about ENERGY STAR is also featured prominently on a number of JELD-WEN Web sites.

In May 2008, JELD-WEN’s “Tips & Tech” information bulletin, which is distributed to sales representatives and other employees, was devoted exclusively to the ENERGY STAR program for fenestration products. Another marketing tool — JELD-WEN Express — is used to keep architects, distributors and employees up-to-date on ENERGY STAR-qualified products and other company news.

All JELD-WEN products are currently available in ENERGY STAR-qualified versions, including the 1,600 new products introduced in 2008. Last year, ENERGY STAR-qualified products accounted for more than 80 percent of JELD-WEN’s production.

CATEGORY: ADVOCATE OF THE YEAR

One Change

In the fall of 2005, One Change — a registered not-for-profit organization headquartered in Ottawa — began delivering a simple message to Canadians: saving energy and money is as easy as changing a light bulb.

The organization’s flagship program — Project Porchlight — aims to deliver one free ENERGY STAR-qualified CFL to every household in Canada. Project Porchlight Recipients are asked to install the CFL in their porchlight or other high-use fixture. This initiative has helped raise awareness of ENERGY STAR as the international symbol of energy efficiency and a great tool for selecting products that are good for the environment.

In 2008, more than 6,000 Project Porchlight volunteers and staff distributed ENERGY STAR-qualified CFLs to over a million households across Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. These three campaigns alone will save Canadians more than $44 million in energy costs over the lifetime of the bulbs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 500,723 tonnes.

The ENERGY STAR logo is featured prominently on campaign boxes, and Project Porchlight volunteers advise homeowners to look for the logo when shopping.

Third-party evaluations of Project Porchlight campaigns have shown that, after their initial experience with One Change, individuals are more likely to make other environmentally sound choices.

One Change brings together volunteers, businesses, non-profit organizations, service clubs, community groups, neighbourhood associations and municipal governments to build lasting and diverse community networks for energy conservation. It has become an advocate not just for CFLs, but for all ENERGY STAR-qualified products.

CATEGORY: RECRUIT OF THE YEAR

BAZZ Inc.

BAZZ Inc.’s mission has always been to create a range of affordable lighting designs. The Montreal-headquartered company is committed to setting new standards for different types of lighting, from recessed fixtures to pendant and wall lamps, track and spot lights.

In 1988, BAZZ became the first to manufacture halogen lighting in Canada. Now, BAZZ can claim to being the first company in North America to introduce recessed fixtures that comply with the new ENERGY STAR Version 4.2 specification for residential light fixtures.

Designed to accommodate GU-24 based CFLs, the two new ENERGY STAR-qualified fixtures designed and manufactured by BAZZ are now being sold at approximately 350 RONA outlets across Canada. More than 23,000 units are scheduled to be shipped by the end of 2009. The new products are also being promoted through Hydro-Québec’s Energy Wise program, which offers a rebate for the purchase of ENERGY STAR-qualified light fixtures. Attention has also been drawn to BAZZ’s latest achievement through a targeted media relations strategy.

The company is now in the process of developing an additional 25 ENERGY STAR-qualified products, including table and floor lamps and ceiling lights. Over the past 30 years, BAZZ has emerged as a leader in the North American lighting industry. It seems destined to become an ENERGY STAR leader as well.

CATEGORY: COLLABORATIVE INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR

British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources

The British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (MEMPR) have engaged several partners to help make ENERGY STAR the provincial standard for residential heating equipment. For example, the MEMPR:

worked with utilities, including Terasen Gas, Terasen Gas Vancouver Island, BC Hydro, FortisBC and Pacific Northern Gas, to provide incentives for the installation of ENERGY STAR-qualified residential furnaces and boilers
engaged the Thermal Energy Comfort Association and the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute to train tradespeople and promote best practices for retrofitting existing homes with ENERGY STAR-qualified furnaces
joined forces with municipalities, the Building Officials Association of BC, utilities and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in a program to provide consumers and developers with information on energy efficiency
partnered with BC Housing, FortisBC, NRCan, Terasen Gas and BC Hydro to implement an energy efficiency program for subsidized housing in B.C. that included procurement of ENERGY STAR-qualified boilers and furnaces
collaborated with building developers, NRCan, the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, utilities, BC Housing, the Condominium Home Owners Association, Homeworks and delivery agents to expand home energy audits and develop an “EnerGuide Plus” rating system that incorporates information on appliances and lighting
developed a regulation adopting the ENERGY STAR criteria as the provincial minimum energy performance standard for furnaces

Through these initiatives, the market share of ENERGY STAR-qualified furnaces in British Columbia increased from 27 percent in 2004 to 64 percent in 2008. Also, the installation of ENERGY STAR-qualified furnaces is expected to result in annual energy savings of
2,475 terajoules and greenhouse gas reductions of 123,000 tonnes per year in 2020.

CATEGORY: SUSTAINED EXCELLENCE

Hydro-Québec

Since the program’s outset, Hydro-Québec has been at the forefront of efforts to use the ENERGY STAR logo to achieve market transformation.

Hydro-Québec’s Energy Wise program has made excellent use of the ENERGY STAR logo in information campaigns to increase awareness, recognition and adoption of ENERGY STAR-qualified products. Energy Wise also regularly offers financial incentives for purchasing ENERGY STAR-qualified products.

The Energy Wise Home Diagnostic program, a free service that provides customers with a breakdown of their home energy costs and identifies potential energy-saving measures. Since 2003, ENERGY STAR has been mentioned in more than 1.4 million recommendations made by the Home Diagnostics program.

A large and broad-based network of manufacturers, retailers, distributors and interest groups collaborate with Hydro-Québec to promote Energy Wise and ENERGY STAR. Exhibit representatives, call centre employees and in-store demonstrators all receive training on the benefits of energy efficiency and how to advise and encourage customers to look for the ENERGY STAR logo when purchasing household products.

Hydro-Québec advocates a philosophy by which consumers are encouraged to take actions — even small ones — to improve energy efficiency and contribute to the collective well-being. It’s an approach that mirrors the ENERGY STAR message that all Canadians can make a difference by taking action on climate change.

Media may contact:

Jasmine MacDonnell

Director of Communications

Office of the Honourable Lisa Raitt

Ottawa

613-996-2007

Media Relations

Natural Resources Canada

Ottawa

613-992-4447

NRCan's news releases and backgrounders are available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media/index-eng.php.