Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program

CLASP (Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program)

Established	1999
Type	Non-Profit 501(c)3 Organization
Headquarters	Washington, DC, USA
Founding Organizations	Alliance to Save Energy; the International Institute for Energy Conservation; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Board Chair	Stephen Wiel
Executive Director	Christine Egan
Website	clasp.ngo

CLASP, formerly the Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program, improves the energy and environmental performance of the appliances & equipment we use every day, accelerating our transition to a more sustainable world.

CLASP serves as the leading international voice & resource for appliance energy efficiency policies and market acceleration initiatives. From advancing the off-grid solar technologies bringing power to energy-impoverished people, to cutting the catastrophic climate impacts of air conditioning, CLASP programs increase uptake of affordable, low-impact, high-quality appliances.

Appliances are a big part of our lives. Smart phones keep us connected. Heating, cooling, and lighting improve productivity and safety. Refrigeration protects the food we harvest and eat. Without much thought, we interact with energy- and resource-consuming products every day.

Though appliances improve lives and livelihoods, they also use energy and other essential resources. Recent analyses indicate that air conditioning, not cars, pose the greatest threat to our planet. As millions of households in developing and emerging economies have the financial resources to control their indoor climate for the first time, the world is poised to install 700 million new room air conditioners by 2030 and 1.6 billion by 2050. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, that’s like adding several large countries to the planet.

Meanwhile, nearly 3 billion people prepare their meals on inefficient, pre-modern cookstoves, or over open fires, using charcoal and biomass. An estimated 1.2 billion people around the globe lack access to electricity entirely—another billion have only unreliable access. Energy poverty is a major barrier to social and economic development, and the emissions generated by inefficient and dirty cooking and lighting methods pose serious health risks, especially to women and children, and are powerful climate forcers. For most households living beyond the grid, electrification is too long coming, and for most governments, total electrification is far too expensive and resource-intensive.

On the grid, energy efficient appliances are one of the most cost-effective methods for mitigating climate change. They save money for governments and consumers alike, reduce peak energy demand, and bolster economic and energy security. Off the grid, energy efficient appliances pair with solar-home systems or mini-grids to increase the availability and affordability of energy. Radically reducing the cost of off-grid energy through efficient appliances improves educational, health, and economic outcomes for the world’s poorest people, while moving all of us closer to a cleaner, renewably-powered energy economy.

CLASP was created in 1999 as a strategic cooperation of three organization – the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), the International Institute for Energy Conservation (IIEC), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).^[1] It became an independent, non profit 501(c)3 organization in 2005.^[2]

What We Do

Since 1999, CLASP has worked in over 100 countries taking three primary approaches:

Policy & Analysis – smart policy moves markets towards more energy-efficient and higher quality appliances, from LEDs to cookstoves. We work hand-in-hand with governments to structure rigorous energy and quality standards that promote innovation and competition, and with manufacturers, consumers, and others to label and deploy stand-out products.

Market Development & Innovation – Incentivizing good appliances to buyers up and down the supply chain reduces risk for everyone, and builds up markets that are weak or disorganized. Innovative products – from refrigeration for off-grid consumers to the switch to DC power and the internet of things – are game changers for how we all use energy.

Global Collaboration – CLASP serves at the epicenter of ambitious and collaborative efforts to prevent catastrophic climate change and make the world sustainable for all. Our cross-cutting research, online tools, trainings, and stakeholder coalitions make best practices available to everybody, amplifying our efforts and impact.

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