
Award Description:	
The Partner of the Year Award and Sustained Excellence Awards for windows, doors, and skylights product brand owners recognize ENERGY STAR product brand owner partners that have demonstrated excellence and leadership in designing, labeling, and promoting products that earn the ENERGY STAR certification.


Eligibility Requirements:
To be eligible for recognition, applicants must meet each of the following requirements:
 Maintained active ENERGY STAR partnership in good standing for at least one full year; 
 Complied with the requirements outlined in the applicable ENERGY STAR Partner Commitments, Product Specification, and Brand Book requirements; and
 Maintained satisfactory compliance with all applicable EPA regulations (EPA will perform a compliance/enforcement screening for each applicant as part of the application review process).

To be eligible for a Sustained Excellence award, applicants must meet the above requirements AND have received a Sustained Excellence award the previous year or received a Partner of the Year award each of the past two years. Applicants meeting these requirements will be automatically considered for a Sustained Excellence award.


Application Instructions:	
All application materials must be submitted electronically through your My ENERGY STAR Account (MESA) (www.energystar.gov/mesa) using the electronic application forms provided. These materials must include: 
 PART 1: General Instructions & Executive Summary which includes a brief description of your organization and six bullet points showcasing your organization's main ENERGY STAR achievements during 2020 in the corresponding fields. (required)
      
 PART 2: Award Accomplishments Document consisting of your organization's responses to Sections A and B of this application (required). Please write a narrative describing your company's activities and accomplishments specific to supporting ENERGY STAR's objectives.  Your narrative should:
 Be no more than five pages. 
 Use at least size 11 font.
 Provide a detailed description of your 2020 accomplishments and activities related to each of the criteria using the outline below.  
 Complete all provided tables and their requested data points (Provide year-to-date figures for 2020).
 Provide timeframes for any additional data on cumulative outcomes.
 Cumulative accomplishment statements (multi-year) may be included in the Accomplishments Narrative, but data specific to 2020 activities must also be provided.

 PART 3: Supporting Materials are electronic samples of materials used by your organization (e.g., samples of 2020 marketing and training materials) in support of the ENERGY STAR-related activities. Applicants must provide at least one item of supporting materials for PART 3 (required). These supporting materials must be in a PDF electronic format and may include pictures of proper ENERGY STAR labeling, specific promotions, advertisements, training/education materials, documents on product innovations, or other activities your organization undertook in 2020. Only the first 50 pages of supporting materials will be reviewed. Applicants will receive no credit for items appearing on or after page 51.
      
 PART 4:  Organization's High-Resolution Logo (required)
Selection of Award Winners:
 EPA will evaluate applications based on the information provided in response to the areas specified.
 EPA may select any number of award winners, depending on the quality of the applications received.
 EPA will evaluate only one application per company. Window, door, and skylight product brand owners (manufacturers) should only submit one application for review.  If the product brand owner makes both windows and doors (or another category combination), the manufacturer may submit data on promotion of both or either category.  However, the submitter should make it clear which data or information applies to a category (i.e., window data or door data).
                                       


                     PART 2:
Award Accomplishment Document
            (use the following information to create a Word or PDF file)
A.   Accomplishments Narrative
Please provide a narrative describing your company's activities and accomplishments related to each of the criteria specified below:

Furthering Energy Efficiency in Products*
(Note: Cut and paste this table into your Accomplishments document for editing)

Total number of residential window product lines (not options) manufactured in 2020 (ENERGY STAR and non-ENERGY STAR)
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Percent of residential window product lines in 2020 that have at least one option that is ENERGY STAR certified
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Percent of residential window product lines in 2020 that have at least one option that is ENERGY STAR certified in the Northern Zone
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Percent of residential window product lines in 2020 that have at least one option that is ENERGY STAR certified in the Southern Zone
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  *Please complete a separate table for doors or skylights. If the company does not manufacture windows, no table for windows is necessary.
  
 Provide information concerning new ENERGY STAR models/option packages developed/certified in 2020, including a brief description of innovations in product design for energy efficiency. Provide specific examples, design drawings or diagrams, and savings delivered, where possible. 
 Provide a description of engagement and leadership regarding the ENERGY STAR program, including participation in ENERGY STAR product specification development effort(s) and conduct/sharing of research and/or data that support specification development.
   
Use of ENERGY STAR labeling

 In your supporting materials, please provide pictures demonstrating that minimum ENERGY STAR labeling requirements were met on window, door, and/or skylight products; on the main company web site; and proper use of the product display label.  Include at least one set of pictures that show the proper use of the ENERGY STAR label on product packaging, including the proper use of the spine label (if used).  EPA reserves the right to disqualify from consideration any application that contains incorrect use of ENERGY STAR logos, labeling, or messaging.
    List activities that go above and beyond minimum labeling requirements, while still meeting the ENERGY STAR Brand Book requirements.  Examples could be unique or highly prominent use of the logo on product or packaging, inclusion in program messaging, use in digital graphics for ads or promotions, links back to energystar.gov with ENERGY STAR certification mark, and use on high profile pages on the company website.

Marketing, Communication, and Consumer Education Efforts

Please provide detailed descriptions of your product marketing, communications, and consumer education efforts and accomplishments in 2020 that are related to the ENERGY STAR program. Highlight any efforts that go beyond typical or common product marketing, communication, or education efforts.  These might include informing and educating the consumer about the ENERGY STAR program (label, criteria, and/or website), the ENERGY STAR Most Efficient program and advanced products, the importance and benefits of energy efficiency, the problem of climate change, the benefits of preserving the environment, and/or the benefits of reducing air pollution. For each effort, provide the following:

 Description of the effort
 Specific tactics used, such as online/digital media, in-store activities (signage/events), advertising, public relations, social media, direct mail, etc. 
 Intended audience for the marketing/communications effort, such as internal or external and demographics.
 Dates and location of activity(ies)
 Data on the impact of the effort, such as:
          Quantity of materials/efforts
          Frequency of efforts
          Reach/Impressions
          Web data - such as number of views, unique visitors, or average view times
 Brief description of any partnering or cooperative aspects
 Examples of marketing/communication materials that include ENERGY STAR logos and messaging. These may be included as part of the PDF of supporting materials described above.



Employee and Sales Training Efforts
(Note: Cut and paste this table into your Accomplishments document for editing)

Number of existing employees reached through internal training
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   Percentage of existing employees reached
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Number of new employees reached through internal training
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   Percentage of new employees reached
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Number of distributor or retailer locations trained
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   Percentage of distributor or retailer locations trained
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   Number of distributor or retailer employees trained (total)
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   Average percentage of distributor or retailer employees trained at each location
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Please describe how your organization integrated ENERGY STAR into training programs for your employees and your distributor, retailers, and/or dealer partners. For each effort, provide the following:
    Description of effort
    Scope of training
    Measure of impact
    Description of collaboration with EPA in developing training activities, if applicable
    Examples, such as training manuals, new employee packets, presentations, collaterals, email communications, manuals, newsletters, ENERGY STAR specification summaries, etc. These may be included as part of the PDF of supporting materials described above.

      
Cross-Cutting Efforts (Bonus)

To enhance your application, please provide information on any cross-cutting efforts that have been incorporated into your company practices, including:
    Participation in other EPA programs and campaigns, such as:
          ENERGY STAR Buildings (benchmarking building/facility performance)
          ENERGY STAR Industrial Partnership (developing an energy management program)
          EPA's Green Power Partnership
          EPA's SmartWay
          EPA's Responsible Appliance Disposal (RAD) Program
          EPA's WaterSense
    Commitment to organization-wide facility energy efficiency improvements.
    Organizational procurement practices of energy efficient and/or ENERGY STAR certified products.
    Company efforts to reducing emissions (e.g., recycling programs, solar, Bike to Work initiatives, electric vehicle charging stations, etc.)
    Company efforts to reducing emissions in the value chain of its products (i.e., manufacturing processes for products).
    Offering recycling of products and/or packaging or developing in-house recycling programs.
    Commitment to protecting the integrity of the ENERGY STAR brand through continuous improvement, enhanced quality assurance, reporting logo violations, or other practices.
   
B.   Additional Data (Optional)

This information may be provided in PART 3: Supporting Materials of your application package.  (Do not include in the above 5-page Accomplishments Narrative)

Manufacturers may also provide the following optional information for consideration:
 A table, graph, or chart with sales volume data explaining the channels your company uses to sell its products (i.e., big-box stores, custom dealers/distributors, contractors, direct to consumer).  The information must include specific numerical ratios, percentages, or actual sales volume data to explain the distribution.
 The average sale price of your company's best-selling (by volume) ENERGY STAR qualified double-hung 3' x 5' window (or common patio door size) and that product's detailed specifications.

 
  
 The manufacturer cost per square foot of the following items for the best-selling (by volume) ENERGY STAR qualified product listed above:
 IGU cost per sq. ft. (glass package with coatings, spacer, gas and including labor to assemble)
 Frame material cost per sq. ft. (including any foam-fill and typical hardware)
 Labor cost to fabricate and package window per sq. ft.
 Product performance data (U-factor, SHGC) and details on design features (e.g. frame types, glass package, etc.) for your company's three (3) available products with the lowest U-factors.  The CPD number of each should be provided.

                 Prepare/Gather Remaining Documents for Upload


   PART 3: Supporting Materials (at least one required, as described in the Application Instructions above) 

   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.

PART 4: Organization's High-Resolution Logo (required) 