Release Date: 10/27/2015 Contact Information: Enesta Jones jones.enesta@epa.gov 202-564-7873 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy will kick off ENERGY STAR Day by sitting down with local school children to discuss how they can make a difference in protecting the environment from climate change in a live streamed event with Discovery Education. Administrator McCarthy will also encourage the children and people across the country to make a commitment to saving energy by taking the ENERGY STAR Pledge.

“Today’s students are tomorrow’s innovators, decision-makers, and problem-solvers,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “I’m thrilled to participate in an ENERGY STAR Day event aimed at educating young people about the tools we have to act on climate, and inspiring them to design the solutions of the future.”

DIRECTV and Discovery Education are partnering with ENERGY STAR on the live stream event, broadcasting it to thousands of students in classrooms across the country, and to the rest of the world via www.discoveryeducation.com/energystar. In addition to this event, ENERGY STAR partners from coast to coast are celebrating ENERGY STAR Day by asking people to pledge an energy-saving action. More than 4.3 million individuals have taken the ENERGY STAR Pledge, making energy-saving choices that have led to a more than 15 billion pound reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

EPA will cap off its ENERGY STAR Day celebration with a Twitter Party (#ENERGYSTARDay), where partners and people from across the country can share how they are making a difference in protecting the climate by saving energy. The following top ENERGY STAR Pledge Drivers for 2014/2015 will be congratulated at the social media event for their work in helping American families reduce their carbon footprint:

· Georgia Power Company - 3,495,701,311 lbs* · Samsung Electronics - 159,147,570 lbs · Nissan North America - 101,380,476 lbs · Food Lion LLC - 53,514,036 lbs · Verizon - 19,854,112 lbs

More information on ENERGY STAR Day: www.energystar.gov/esday