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EPA Names Sears Holdings 2010 ENERGY STAR(R) Retail Partner of the Year

"We're honored to be named this year's Retail Partner of the Year for our efforts to make ENERGY STAR-qualified products more accessible and understandable to our customers," said Bruce Johnson, interim chief executive officer and president for Sears Holdings. "ENERGY STAR-qualified products address environmental concerns while simultaneously providing great value to our customers. We are pleased that our home appliance business was able to increase sales of ENERGY STAR-qualified products in a very challenging economy. And 91 percent of our home electronics products sold were ENERGY STAR-qualified. We have taken out a national print ad today thanking our customers for making the switch to ENERGY STAR-qualified products," said Johnson.

Sears' efforts in 2009 to promote ENERGY STAR-qualified products helped customers save money on their utility bills, which in turn, contributed to helping protect the environment. In fact last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved $17 billion on their energy bills and reduced greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 30 million vehicles.

Sears Holdings, an ENERGY STAR partner since joining in 1998, has been recognized for its leadership in educating customers about energy-efficient products that earn the ENERGY STAR, the government-backed symbol of energy efficiency. The following efforts by Sears, Roebuck and Co. contributed to Sears Holdings earning the 2010 ENERGY STAR Retail Partner of the Year:

    --  Responsible Appliance Disposal: Sears is proud to be the only retail
        member of the Environmental Protection Agency's Responsible Appliance
        Disposal program - RAD.  Through the RAD program, Sears took millions of
        energy inefficient appliances off the grid and disposed of them
        properly. Sears and its partners ensure that the disposal process takes
        place in an environmentally friendly manner to avoid the discarding of
        appliances in landfills. Many of the components of the old appliance are
        then recycled.

    --  Customer Awareness and Marketing: Sears strongly featured the ENERGY
        STAR logo in print materials, increasing by 40% the number of ENERGY
        STAR logos in its ads, achieving over 40.8 billion impressions. Sears
        also provided customers with information on the benefits of ENERGY STAR
        through brochures, "Did You Know" circulars and its various Web sites.
        In February Sears' Home Appliance business introduced the Home Appliance
        Research center and online rebate center as a means for consumers to get
        product information, access utility rebates and find competitive
        pricing, all while in the store or on sears.com/energystar. In broadcast
        media Sears ran two dedicated ENERGY STAR commercials, and also featured
        ENERGY STAR products in popular television shows such as ABC TV's
        Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Sears also promoted ENERGY
        STAR-qualified products through its public relations activities at the
        Kitchen & Bath Industry Show and donated products to worthy families in
        collaboration with Rebuilding Together and Sears' "Heroes at Home" cause
        marketing program. This included events in Washington, D.C. and New
        Orleans.

    --  Product Selections: Sears increased the number of ENERGY STAR-qualified
        products available across all eligible areas including: tools, lawn and
        garden, seasonal lighting, televisions and home appliances. For example,
        the lawn and garden business introduced its first ENERGY STAR-qualified
        product. The Home Appliance business increased total ENERGY
        STAR-qualified SKUs to over 200, representing over 60 percent of the
        total assortment

    --  Training: Sears continued its rigorous Home Appliances and Home
        Electronics training programs to ensure a best-in-class sales force that
        is knowledgeable about energy efficiency. Key training initiatives
        included road shows where associates from more than 100 locations across
        the U.S. received hands-on ENERGY STAR training in preparation for the
        "Cash for Appliances" rebate program. Sears also developed training DVDs
        that featured ENERGY STAR information.

    --  Partnerships: Sears made significant strides in developing its
        partnership with the EPA and other non-utility entities in 2009
        including the Boston ENERGY STAR exhibit house, helping with the ENERGY
        STAR partnership with the Boys and Girls Club, and serving as the lead
        sponsor for the Department of Energy's and EPA's annual ENERGY STAR
        partner meetings for Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances. Sears
        also continued its commitment to developing utility partnerships to help
        make ENERGY STAR-qualified products more affordable for consumers.

    --  Promotions: Committed to giving consumers access to ENERGY
        STAR-qualified products, Sears Home Appliance merchants ran multiple
        promotions throughout the year specifically around these products.

Looking ahead through this year, Sears Holdings will continue to expand upon its efforts to bring ENERGY STAR to consumers. Specifically, it plans to:

    --  Move from providing customers with information to creating an experience
        where customers can interact with ENERGY STAR
    --  Increase the number of ENERGY STAR-qualified products offered as well as
        expand the selection into new areas
    --  Incorporate the online ENERGY STAR tools, such as the energy savings
        calculator, into the store experience through its Home Appliance
        Research Center, online kiosks or netbooks
    --  Continue to create unique offers exclusively for ENERGY STAR-qualified
        products, particularly around the U.S. Department of Energy's $300
        million State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP), also
        know as "Cash for Appliances"
    --  Create more in-store "Did you Knows" to further communicate the savings
        facts of ENERGY STAR-qualified products

"Sears Holdings is leading the way in creating solutions to climate change through greater energy efficiency," said Gina McCarthy, EPA assistant administrator for Air and Radiation. "Through the sales and marketing of quality products in numerous categories that have earned the ENERGY STAR, Sears Holdings is helping customers increase their energy efficiency while reducing our nation's emissions of greenhouse gases."

The 2010 Partner of the Year Awards are given to manufacturers and retailers that successfully promote and deliver ENERGY STAR-qualified products, saving consumers money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Award winners are selected from more than 17,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program. Sears Holdings' accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 18, 2010.

For more information on Sears ENERGY STAR efforts, visit www.sears.com/energystar

For more information on Sears Green Corporate Initiatives, visit www.sears.com/green

About Sears Holdings Corporation

Sears Holdings Corporation is the nation's fourth largest broadline retailer with approximately 3,900 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. Sears Holdings is the 2010 ENERGY STAR® Retail Partner of the Year. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has the Country Living collection, which is offered by Sears and Kmart. We are the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 12 million service calls made annually. Sears Holdings Corporation operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation. For more information, visit Sears Holdings' website at www.searsholdings.com.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Today, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 17,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).

    Media Contacts:
    Larry Costello             Sarah Yansura              Maria Vargas
    Sears Holdings             Euro RSCG Worldwide PR     EPA
    847-286-9036               212-367-6804               202-343-9178
    Larry.costello@searshc.com Sarah.Yansura@eurorscg.com vargas.maria@epa.gov

SOURCE Sears Holdings Corporation