The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Region and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have recognized seven "Energy Star partners" in Pennsylvania for their efforts to promote and address climate change, the EPA announced.

“As we accelerate historic efforts to address climate change, public-private partnerships will be essential to realizing the scale of our ambition,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in a release by the EPA. “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.”

Seven companies were honored for their part in the Energy Star Program, which for 30 years has helped deliver a "clean energy future" that saves money and creates jobs by fostering innovation, jobs and economic development, while protecting public health.

The award-winning companies include Air King America, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Bradford White Corporation, PECO Energy Company, PPL Electric Utilities, Rhode Island Energy and Ricoh USA.

Air King America increased sales of an affordable line of Energy Star-compliant fans by 15% by emphasizing the benefits of certified products to staff, distributors, and customers. Bimbo Bakeries USA showed leadership in energy management through its continued use of Energy Star tools and resources and actions to de-carbonize its manufacturing operations, EPA explained.

Other winners effectively leveraged the Energy Star brand and certifications to encourage residential customers to upgrade energy-intensive heating, cooling, and water heating systems.

Energy Star is a government-backed symbol for energy efficiency that provides simple, credible, and unbiased information for consumers and businesses. The program has helped American families and businesses more than $500 billion in energy costs and achieve more than four billion metric tons of greenhouse gas reductions since 1992. EPA and its partners deliver cost-saving energy efficiency solutions to thousands of industrial, commercial, utility, state and local organizations, the release stated.