Standards on energy efficiency
S
ff
and sustainability,
climate change relevance
and trade policy aspects
Christopher R. Nelson
Director, Global Commercial Development
May 5, 2009
Copyright© 2009 Underwriters Laboratories Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this material may be reprinted
in any form without the express written permission of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. or as otherwise provided in writing.
Overview
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Introductions
Issue at hand
Market drivers
Standards on energy efficiency
Standards on sustainability
Possible trade implications
What regulators can do
Summary
Page 2
UL Environment Is…
• A wholly-owned subsidiary of Underwriters
Laboratories (UL) incorporated in 2008 with
offices currently located in the US and Europe.
• Partnering with manufacturers to test, validate
and certify environmentally sustainable products.
• Offering training courses and advisory services
including but not limited to environmentally
sustainable design, environmental certification
program requirements and market access for
environmentally sustainable products.
• Developing a publicly available database where
all validated and certified products will be listed
listed.
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Issue at hand
• Awareness of environmental issues rising
– Governments are acknowledging climate change
– Businesses are beginning to take action
• Uncertainty is increasing in the marketplace
– Benchmarks unclear and not harmonized
internationally
– Claims
Cl i
proliferate
lif t th
the market
k t off ““green”” and
d
“energy efficient” without common definition
• Increase in regulations and standards due
to the need to address these issues
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Market Drivers
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•
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•
•
•
Consensus that humans are impacting the climate
Response: examine sources of CO2 to mitigate,
set goals to reduce emissions, encourage
behavioral change, etc…
All sources considered from built environment to
transportation to products
Consumer interest in environmental goods grown
in response for several reasons: Better for the
planet, my family, my wallet
Led to too many claims about “environmental
friendly-ness” proliferating marketplace and
confusing the consumer
Now: need to set product standards and bring in
third party to certify in order to restore confidence
in manufacturers’ claims
Page 5
Consumer Trust in Environmental Claims
Source: PwC 2008
60%
40%
20%
0%
51%
20%
20%
16%
9%
Standards on Energy Efficiency
• Lower energy
gy use g
generally
y leads
to lower climate impact
• Existing energy efficiency
standards
t d d b
broadly
dl address
dd
need
d
• Standards exist in US and
internationally
– EnergyStar® Program (US & Int’l)
– Energy Using Products Directive
(EUPD – EU)
– Local Country Specific
Page 6
Standards on Sustainability
• Emerged recently as a response to
growing
i concern over environment
i
t
• More holistic view of the product and
manufacturer in order to lower the
overall environmental impact
• Availability limited in many product
categories
i although
lh
h numerous
standards are in development
• Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) are still
fairly unreliable and difficult to
understand
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Possible Trade Implications
• New requirements create a
patchwork system
• Desire to comply is strong and
there is recognition of the need to
address valid environmental
concerns
• Complying is difficult due to cost,
resources, time and complexity
• Regulators need to monitor
monitor, merge
and lower burden to facilitate trade
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To ease the burden
• Regulators should be diligent in
accrediting certification bodies to
conduct testing across borders
• Accreditation requirements need to be
the same for both foreign and
domestic organizations
• Basis for regulations should be
determined on sound science
• Regulations must be transparent
transparent, easy
to understand and technically feasible
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Summary
• Government and regulators should be
harmonizing requirements and policies
• Same accrediting requirements for both
domestic and foreign
g organizations
g
• Standards and regulations need to help lead
the market forward
• Requires input and guidance from all
stakeholders
• Speed and transparency are key components
Fundamental Market Transformation Is Critical!
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Contact Information
Chris Nelson
Director, Global Commercial Development
T: 847.664.3386
christopher.r.nelson@ulenvironment.com
hi t h
l
@ l
i
t
http://www.ULEnvironment.com
888 - 4 - UL GREEN
ulenvironment@us.ul.com
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