General Instructions

What you need to submit your application:

 Your "My ENERGY STAR Account" (MESA) partner account login information 
(see below under "How to submit your application")
      NEW FEATURE:  The system will now Auto-Save as you progress through each application submission step; you may save, leave and return to complete your application at any time before the submission closing date.  HOWEVER, you must have all the information and documents identified below completed and available at the time you are ready to finally Submit your application. Partial submission is not available.
      
 The name of your organization exactly as you would want it to appear on your award crystal and all other communications materials about your award. 
      
 The name and title of your organization's CEO/President.
      
 Electronic copies of the following:

 PART 1:	 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS & EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (required)
 Applicant's Executive Summary
 PART 2:	 Accomplishments Document (in Word or PDF) (required)
 Narrative (varies by ENERGY STAR Award Application Type)
 Application-specific Information (varies by award type)
 PART 3:	 Supporting Materials (varies by award type) (minimum of 1 required)
 PART 4: Organization Logo (High Resolution) (required)

              A NOTE ON COVID-19 AND THE 2021 ENERGY STAR AWARDS
Valued ENERGY STAR Partners: 

EPA recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting individuals and organizations across all sectors of our global economy. Please be assured that we will take this unique circumstance into consideration in reviewing applications for the 2021 ENERGY STAR Awards, which recognize your ENERGY STAR achievements in calendar year 2020. As always, we encourage our partners to apply for a 2021 award. However, for those who feel they are unable to apply for a 2021 ENERGY STAR Award due to circumstances caused by the pandemic, a lapse in recognition in 2021 will not be counted against your history of consecutive ENERGY STAR awards earned in the next (2022) application cycle.

We hope to hold our traditional ceremony on April 22, 2021, but regardless of whether we are able to do so, we will review applications and recognize our partners' accomplishments with awards.

Thank you for your continued support of ENERGY STAR.
              A NOTE ON COVID-19 AND THE 2021 ENERGY STAR AWARDS
Valued ENERGY STAR Partners: 

EPA recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting individuals and organizations across all sectors of our global economy. Please be assured that we will take this unique circumstance into consideration in reviewing applications for the 2021 ENERGY STAR Awards, which recognize your ENERGY STAR achievements in calendar year 2020. As always, we encourage our partners to apply for a 2021 award. However, for those who feel they are unable to apply for a 2021 ENERGY STAR Award due to circumstances caused by the pandemic, a lapse in recognition in 2021 will not be counted against your history of consecutive ENERGY STAR awards earned in the next (2022) application cycle.

We hope to hold our traditional ceremony on April 22, 2021, but regardless of whether we are able to do so, we will review applications and recognize our partners' accomplishments with awards.

Thank you for your continued support of ENERGY STAR.





         
         
 Guidance on Supporting Materials:
 Supporting materials such as print, radio, TV and internet advertisements; point of purchase materials; bills stuffers; educational pamphlets; newsletters; and snapshots of social media postings should be compiled in an easy-to-access and easy-to-understand format to the maximum extent practical. 
 For example, a PDF file could be compiled that labels items by type (e.g., print advertisement, web banner) and subsequently provides supporting imagery under each category. 
 EPA strongly discourages the use of zip files. 
 Each file must be less than 100MB. File names must be no longer than 15 characters and contain no spaces or special characters. EPA recommends intuitive file names such as a reference to the organization name (or acronym) and the content of the file (e.g., EPAenergyEd). 
                     
 For audio and video examples, you may provide a screen shot and enter the link(s) to available online versions through your MESA account application submission process.
 EPA and DOE reserve the right not to review materials that are difficult to access on a standard government-issued computer.
                 
              Where possible, please consolidate your supporting materials into one or two PDF files. 
             
              Heavy traffic and high upload volumes on the last day before the application deadline can cause the website to become slow. If you plan to submit more than six supporting files, or one or more files that are larger than 6 MB, please upload your application well in advance of the deadline. 
              Applicants should ensure that any supporting materials they submit demonstrate proper ENERGY STAR logo use according to the ENERGY STAR Brand Book (see: www.energystar.gov/brandbook ). Any instances of logo violations will strongly impact the review of the application. 
              We generally select about eight two-minute or shorter videos for viewing at the ceremony. The videos should be marketing/commercial in nature, showcasing your ENERGY STAR partnership. 


How and when to submit your application
 All applications must be electronically submitted through your "My ENERGY STAR Account" or MESA (www.energystar.gov/mesa ). We will only accept applications submitted via MESA.
      
 If you do not have a MESA account, have problems logging into MESA, or problems submitting your application, please contact us immediately at awards@energystar.gov for help.

 Application submittal via MESA will be available starting October 28, 2020 and will close at 8:00 pm, EST on Wednesday, December 9, 2020. We will not accept any applications or materials received after this date.

What to expect after you submit
 Confirmation of Receipt: You will receive an e-mail upon completion of your MESA submittal, confirming our receipt of your materials. It will be sent to the Primary and Communications contacts named in the award application. If you do not receive confirmation within this timeframe, email awards@energystar.gov.
      
 Notification: You will be notified no later than Wednesday, February 10, 2021 about the status of your application. 

Additional information

 Information about the ENERGY STAR awards ceremony will posted at www.energystar/awards.
 We encourage all eligible ENERGY STAR partners to apply for a Partner of the Year Award. Applicants for Partner of the Year that are not selected to receive this award will be automatically considered for other recognition.
 The Sustained Excellence Award, our highest honor, recognizes organizations that have won Partner of the Year for several years and that continue to surpass the achievements of previous years. There is no separate application for Sustained Excellence (except Sustained Excellence for Energy Management). 
 The other forms of recognition available to partners and other organizations that work with ENERGY STAR are the Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Contractor of the Year Award, the Excellence Award for Data Innovation, and the Excellence Award for ENERGY STAR Marketing. 
 Excellence Awards: Organizations considering applying for a Partner of the Year award in any category (including Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Contractor of the Year), and also applying for recognition through the secondary Excellence category are strongly encouraged to submit just one Partner of the Year application that responds to the criteria of both categories. To aid in the review and scoring of your submission, it is important that your single application be fully responsive to the criteria set forth in both the primary and secondary Excellence award categories.
 Where applicable, quantify your activities and the results (e.g., percent improvement, growth in ENERGY STAR market share, number of media impressions for outreach efforts, and include electronic copies of documentation that support claims made (e.g., photos of marketing materials, samples of advertisements with the ENERGY STAR mark, copies of training materials used, etc.).
 Organizations that are under contract with the EPA are not eligible to receive an award. They may, however, be involved in preparing applications on behalf of clients that partner with ENERGY STAR.
 Each applicant will be screened for any civil and criminal environmental actions.  EPA will screen your organization and any related subsidiaries for compliance with environmental regulations. You are requested to list the main subsidiaries of your organization as an input into this screening process. The most accurate listing of subsidiaries is one that you provide. If you do not list subsidiaries, EPA will create a list of subsidiaries for you and will decide eligibility from the listing it prepares. Results of the screening will be factored into the award selection process.

Award Executive Summary
(REQUIRED)

If you earn an award, the content you enter below will serve as the Executive Summary for your application and will populate the event script, slideshow, and the online Profiles in Leadership.
    In one sentence, please describe the nature and purpose of your organization (Character limit: 200 including spaces)

Enter your description here...Character limit: 200 including spaces

   Example: ABC Company, established in 2005, manufactures widgets for the automotive industry.
   
    In one sentence, please describe your organization's most significant ENERGY STAR accomplishment during 2020 (Character limit: 200 including spaces)
   
Enter your description here...Character limit: 200 including spaces

   Example 1:  ABC Company benchmarked 100% of its facilities in 2020, reducing energy use by 50% across the portfolio. 
   Example 2: ABC Company built more than 3,000 ENERGY STAR certified homes in 2020, for a cumulative total of more than 10,000 since partnering with ENERGY STAR in 2007. 
   
    In order of importance or significance, provide a maximum of six bullet points that describe your ENERGY STAR-related activities or innovations in 2020 (e.g. metrics, new program elements, verification methods, marketing, etc.). Please include information about the impact of these activities. Follow the format used in the examples below (begin bullets with active verbs ending with "-ed".  (Character limit: 480 per bullet including spaces)

1
Enter your description here...Character limit: 480 including spaces



2
Enter your description here...Character limit: 480 including spaces



3
Enter your description here...Character limit: 480 including spaces



4
Enter your description here...Character limit: 480 including spaces



5
Enter your description here...Character limit: 480 including spaces



6
Enter your description here...Character limit: 480 including spaces

   
   Examples: 
   
 Key 2020 accomplishments and activities include:
            
             Leveraged the ENERGY STAR label, messaging, and national campaigns to promote a variety of ENERGY STAR certified products to its customers including washers, dryers, heat pump water heaters, and lighting. 
            
             Surpassed the momentum of the previous years, increased uptake of incentives for ENERGY STAR certified LED's by 85 percent and ENERGY STAR certified appliances by 180 percent. 
         
             Provided ENERGY STAR sales training for all its sales agents in 2020, enabling them to better sell the features and benefits of ENERGY STAR certified homes.
            
             Engaged consumers through multi-channel education, featuring ENERGY STAR that resulted in 92 million radio impressions, 17 million Pandora Radio impressions, 317,000 digital clicks to website, and more than 5 million total lighting products sold.

    Additional examples can be viewed at: https://www.energystar.gov/about/awards/2020_energy_star_award_winners
   
   ENERGY STAR[(R)] is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency, providing simple, credible, and unbiased information that consumers and businesses rely on to make well-informed decisions.



