CEA Lauds Energy Star Regulatory Improvement Act

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has applauded the reintroduction of legislation that would provide an alternative to the Energy Star program's third-party certification requirement for consumer electronics (CE) manufactures with a history of compliance.

The Energy Star Regulatory Improvement Act, reintroduced by Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), recognizes that a "costly, time-consuming, one-size-fits-all approach to the Energy Star program isn’t the most effective means of improving energy efficiency," said Douglas Johnson, VP, technology policy for the CEA, adding that the effort would limit the cost and time delay created by "unnecessary, pre-market requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency."

Noting that the CE industry accounts for more than half of the overall savings achieved under the EPA's Energy Star program, Johnson added: "Third-party certification may work well for certain product categories or industries covered by Energy Star, but not for a CE sector with intense market pressures, short time-to-market requirements and a lightning-fast pace of innovation."

Representative Womack’s bill strikes the right balance between maintaining EPA’s use of third-party certification and recognizing opportunities to provide relief where such burdensome mandates are not needed or justified," he said.

The Arlington, Va.-based Consumer Electronics Association is the technology trade group representing the $223 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry.