The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last spring that it was considering ending or privatizing its popular, 30-year-old program for promoting energy efficiency in buildings and products across the U.S. But industry pushed back with so much bipartisan support for maintaining ENERGY STAR as is that Congress decided to keep the program in its FY2026 budget.

This month, however, EPA restarted debate and speculation when it announced that it would be transferring primary administration of the program to the U.S. Department of Energy.