Collaborative Labeling and Appliance Standards Program
CLASP is an international nonprofit organization which provides technical and policy support to governments worldwide and works to implement energy efficiency standards and labels for appliances, lighting, and equipment. It specializes in publishing studies and analyses with relevance to S&L practitioners.
The organization was created in 1999 as a strategic cooperation of three organizations – the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), the International Institute for Energy Conservation, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). It became an independent, non profit 501(c)(3) organization in 2005.
CLASP conducts some of its technical analysis through an international network of partners, who are experts in the various aspects of S&L. Currently, CLASP's network includes over 200 technical experts and S&L practitioners from more than 30 different countries. Additionally, CLASP collaborates with various international S&L initiatives, such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Energy Standards Information System and International Energy Agency Efficient Electrical End-Use Equipment, to facilitate information exchange and connect S&L experts in similar regions or areas of expertise.
CLASP joined the ClimateWorks Foundation as a Global Best Practice Network in March 2009. ClimateWorks' BPNs are institutions staffed by technical and regulatory experts who help design, implement, and enforce policies proven to reduce emissions. The ClimateWorks Foundation focuses on the sectors and regions responsible for most of the world's carbon emissions. CLASP, as part of its partnership with ClimateWorks, moved from working exclusively in developing countries to also working in more industrialized economies including the United States and European Union.
In 2011, CLASP was appointed as the Operating Agent for the Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment initiative, a multilateral collaboration initiated by the Clean Energy Ministerial and the International Partnership for [Energy Efficiency Cooperation] to transform the global market toward higher energy efficiency. SEAD member governments include Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. China participates as an observer.
Programs
Since 1999, CLASP has worked in over 50 countries on six continents. Some of CLASP's past program locations include Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Fiji, Ghana, Poland, South Africa, Tunisia, and Uruguay.CLASP currently has programs in China, Brazil, Europe, Southeast Asia, East Africa, India, and the United States, collaborating with policymakers, regulators, and their stakeholders to facilitate the development and
implementation of energy efficiency S&L.
Additionally, CLASP has two global programs—Global Research and the SEAD Initiative—which create original technical research, facilitate information exchange among countries, and disseminate S&L best practices internationally. In 2021, 15 countries signed SEAD's Product Efficiency Call to Action, which aims to double the efficiency of lighting, residential cooling, residential refrigeration, and industrial electric motor systems globally by 2030.
History
1999 – CLASP was established by three founding organizations – the Alliance to Save Energy, the International Institute for Energy Conservation, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.2000 – CLASP's first website launched in July, 2000.- 2002 – CLASP was registered as a World Summit on Sustainable Development partnership.
- 2004 – From 2000 to 2004, CLASP provided assistance for the development and implementation of 21 new minimum energy performance standards, energy efficiency endorsement labels, and energy information labels that will save 250 megatons of by 2014.
- 2005 – CLASP became an independent 501 non-profit corporation.
- 2007 – CLASP became the Secretariat of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Energy Standards Information System under direction of the APEC ESIS Project Overseers and Expert Group on Energy Efficiency and Conservation.
- 2009 – CLASP joined the ClimateWorks Foundation's network as a Best Practice Network in March.
- 2011 – CLASP was appointed as the Operating Agent of Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment, a government-led international market transformation initiative for highly efficient appliances and equipment.
- 2012 – CLASP website was selected by the 16th Annual Webby Awards as an Official Honoree in the Green category.
Publications and Tools
PublicationsCooling Benchmarking StudyOpportunities for Success and Savings from Appliance Energy Efficiency Harmonization- Compliance Counts: A Practitioners Guidebook on Best Practice Monitoring, Verification, and Enforcement for Appliance Standards &Labeling
- Energy Efficiency Labels and Standards: A Guidebook for Appliances, Equipment, And Lighting
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