A D.E.E.P. Participant Is One of the First Dealerships to Become Energy Star Certified

In 2024, one of D.E.E.P.’s participating dealerships – Ventura Toyota in Ventura, California – was among the first ever dealerships to get certified under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR program.

Ventura Toyota is one of eight dealerships to earn EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification. To earn the ENERGY STAR, these dealerships demonstrated that they are more energy efficient than at least 75% of other dealerships across the country. Using EPA’s online ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool, they benchmarked their energy efficiency based on 12 months of utility bills. The resulting 1–100 ENERGY STAR score, adjusted for weather and business activity, gives insight into a dealership’s energy performance.

Ventura Toyota received ENERGY STAR certification for 2023. This dealership’s 1-100 ENERGY STAR Score is 94, meaning that it is more energy efficient than 94% of similar properties nationwide.

Examples of energy efficiency measures include:

• Installing interior and exterior LED lighting with automatic controls
• Using efficient thermostat settings and schedules

Plus, Ventura Toyota has increased the amount of renewable electricity it uses by 33%, which reduces their carbon emissions by about 24 metric tons CO2e annually.