The Trump administration is currently weighing the fate of the Energy Star product efficiency program after previously telling staff it would end it.
“No final decision has been made at this time,” an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesperson said in a Tuesday email to The Hill.
However, the spokesperson did criticize the program as a “government-sponsored advertising scheme.”
“It is unclear what the economic activity generated by the ENERGY STAR program is versus what the economic activity would be without this program, as this program does not preclude the purchase or sales of any product,” said the spokesperson, who did not sign their name on the statement emailed to The Hill. “The Trump EPA is committed to being good stewards of taxpayer dollars and a program that essentially is a government-sponsored advertising scheme doesn’t seem like a good use of hard-working Americans’ money.”
The statement comes as The New York Times reported, citing four people who were briefed on the matter, that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is reconsidering his initial plan to end the program.
Under the Energy Star, companies that meet energy efficiency specifications can display the program’s logo, helping consumers identify which products the government considers to be efficient.
The program does not come with mandates and does not require companies to phase out inefficient products.
EPA staffers were told at a meeting earlier this year that the administration intended to eliminate both Energy Star and the Climate Protection Partnerships division that houses it.
