New standards light the way

Asia - Three of the world's largest lighting companies will establish new standards for compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) to rid the Asian market of shoddy energy-saving lights.

Philips, OSRAM and General Electric signed the "Manila Compact" on the sidelines of the Asia Clean Energy Forum sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Under the accord, lighting suppliers in Asia will develop performance levels to rate CFL quality, a system for product marking, and a regional database so consumers can identify which CFLs meet quality standards.

According to a report by USAID, half the CFLs in Asia produce less light or burn out quicker than advertised. Industry players believe customer dissatisfaction with shoddy CFLs is threatening the US$7 billion annual sales potential of the energy-saving lamps in Asia.

"Having a common quality system is essential to ensure long-term consumer satisfaction and to strengthen the market for these energy-saving lamps," said Orestes Anastasia, regional environment advisor for USAID.

The new Asian system will be compatible with existing quality certification systems like the Efficient Lighting Initiative and the UK's Energy Saving Trust. The system will also categorise the lamps under "good", "better" or "best" to denote whether the lamps meet various quality criteria.