The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced the winners of the 2022 Energy Star Awards. Andersen Corp. and SoftLite both came away with Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence awards, while Jeld-Wen received an excellence award for its marketing efforts.

A joint news release from the EPA and DOE noted there were 220 winning organizations in total, all of which are contributing to America’s transition to clean energy, officials said.

“As we accelerate historic efforts to address climate change, public-private partnerships will be essential to realizing the scale of our ambition,” said EPA administrator Michael S. Regan. “I applaud this year’s Energy Star award winners for working with EPA to deliver a clean energy future that saves American consumers and businesses money and creates jobs.”

The award for sustained excellence goes to companies that have demonstrated a commitment to energy efficiency year after year. According to the release, some of Andersen’s accomplishments that resulted in the award include providing Energy Star-themed promotional point-of-purchase/point-of-sale materials for dealer showrooms and major home improvement retailers in more than 1,500 locations. Those efforts resulted in 18,000 impressions across all locations, according to the release.

Additionally, Andersen communicated Energy Star messaging and training to 12,000 existing employees and 4,500 new employees. The company has been an Energy Star partner since the windows program began in 1998 and was the first window manufacturer awarded the Energy Star National Window Partner of the Year in 1999. This year marks Andersen’s ninth Sustained Excellence Award and the 14th time the company has been recognized by the program.

“Andersen has been committed to taking measurable steps to create sustainable products that consume fewer resources over time and have less impact on our critical natural habitats since our founding nearly 120 years ago,” says Brandon Berg, senior vice president of research, development and innovation at Andersen. “An estimated 77% of Americans are concerned about the environmental impact of the products they purchase. We believe it is our responsibility to continue to innovate within energy efficiency and expand the industry into energy generation, through efforts like our joint development with Ubiquitous Energy.”

In 2022, Andersen and Ubiquitous Energy announced an agreement to jointly develop energy-generating door and window products.

SoftLite Windows & Doors also came away with the Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award. According to Energy Star officials, 99% of SoftLite’s total sales come from Energy-Star-certified models, with another 8% of all products shipped also making the list for Energy Star’s Most Efficient program. In addition, SoftLite promoted multiple campaigns, such as Energy Star Home Upgrade, Energy Star tips, EarthDay, EnergyChoicesCount and more.

The company also enhanced its product performance to three different product lines, and trained and tested all new and existing employees through a revamped Energy Star training program. This year marks SoftLite’s 10th year as an Energy Star Partner of the Year and its eighth as a Sustained Excellence Award winner.

“This is truly a highlight for SoftLite,” says Mark Hobbs, SoftLite senior vice president of sales. “We are so honored to receive this award for the 10th straight year. It truly is a testament to our commitment to not only manufacture energy-efficient windows and follow environmental best practices in our company, but to educate our employees and dealers on the importance of both.”

Jeld-Wen earned its award by “significantly enhancing” its Energy Star marketing efforts by way of a new employee education and training program, as well as consumer outreach. According to Energy Star officials, the training program reached 1,100 employees. Jeld-Wen also promoted Energy Star across social media channels through [DWM] magazine’s “Earth Day: More Than a 24-Hour Cycle.”

The company supported Energy Star Day by donating certified doors and windows to a family in need, while volunteering to help with installation and other improvement projects for the home. That donation came courtesy of a partnership with Rebuilding Together and Lowe’s Home Improvement.