OREANDA-NEWS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, with a 2016 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence Award – for its continued leadership in offering the latest innovations in energy efficient products.

In 2015, The Home Depot helped customers save nearly $701.6 million in annual utility costs, equaling a 4 million metric ton decrease in greenhouse gas emissions through the sale of ENERGY STAR certified products. The Home Depot offers more than 17,000 ENERGY STAR products in stores and online.

This is the ninth year the company has been recognized by EPA for its achievements.

In December 2015, The Home Depot also announced that it had exceeded 2015 sustainability goals, achieving a reduction of energy use in its stores by 30 percent over 2004 levels – a savings of more than 8 billion kilowatts over ten years. The original goal set in 2010 was to reduce energy use by 20 percent.

"We're constantly seeking new and innovative products that are energy efficient, enabling our customers to save in their homes and businesses as we also reduce energy use in our stores," says Ron Jarvis, vice president of environmental for The Home Depot.

The company also continues to implement a number of sustainability enhancements to its stores each year including Energy Management Systems to control all store lighting and HVACs and a fuel cell program that provides up to 85 percent of the energy that each participating store needs to operate.

About The Home Depot

The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,274 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. In fiscal 2015, The Home Depot had sales of $88.5 billion and earnings of $7.0 billion. The Company employs more than 385,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index. 

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR® is the simple choice for energy efficiency. For more than 20 years, people across America have looked to EPA's ENERGY STAR program for guidance on how to save energy, save money, and protect the environment. Behind each blue label is a product, building, or home that is independently certified to use less energy and cause fewer of the emissions that contribute to climate change. Today, ENERGY STAR is the most widely recognized symbol for energy efficiency in the world, helping families and businesses save $362 billion on utility bills, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2.4 billion metric tons since 1992.