Reliable and accessible data on existing appliance and equipment policies is pivotal to inform decision-making and drive ambitious climate action. 

Building on the success of the 20-year old CLASP Policy Database, the CLASP Policy Resource Center (CPRC) is the first global policy tool to span energy and water efficiency policies and quality standards for on- and off-grid products.

The comprehensive database contains policy information from over 120 countries and 14 different product groups, making it easy to view, compare, and download data to support policy development, product prioritization, and other technical analyses.

CLASP has coordinated the tool over the last two decades with help from several partners. Read on to learn more about the history of the CPRC.

2000-2003

The CLASP Standards and Labeling (S&L) Database launched in 2000 as a collaborative effort among the founders of CLASP (the Alliance to Save Energy, the International Institute of Energy Conservation, and Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory) as one of the first projects they undertook to launch CLASP and its brand. Together with the first edition of the S&L Guidebook, the CLASP S&L Database was an early global tool to provide stakeholders with information on countries with developed energy efficiency policies, the types of policies, and which products policies covered. The database initially covered 32 countries, reflecting those that had adopted an energy efficiency label or standard as of 2001.

2004-2010

From 2004 to 2010, CLASP served as a secretariat for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Energy Standards & Information System (ESIS), hosted by the APEC Expert Group on Energy Efficiency & Conservation (EGEE&C). The APEC ESIS database covered energy efficiency policies for appliances, equipment, and lighting in APEC countries. In 2004, the CLASP S&L Database and APEC ESIS were merged and launched as a single web-based tool, which covered 21 APEC and 24 non-APEC economies, managed by CLASP with funding support from APEC countries.

2011-2016

From 2011 to 2016, the S&L Database was supported with funding from ClimateWorks Foundation, as well as the U.S. Government under the Super-Efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative. CLASP continued to increase the scope of the database, adding new countries, products, and features. Usage of the database expanded and it informed numerous country and international analyses on the state of standards and labels around the world.

2017-2019

From 2017, various philanthropic funds supported the revamp and maintenance of the renamed Policy Database. In 2019, the database covered 92 economies, reflecting the increase in adoption of standards and labels globally. For the first time, quality standards that cover off-grid solar products (solar energy kits and lighting) were featured in the database. In an effort to further improve the Policy Database, CLASP led a User Survey to understand how users interact with the database, what issues they encountered, and what additional features they would find useful.

2020-2021

Throughout 2020, CLASP worked on the development of a revised platform supporting policy tracking, benchmarking, analysis and comparison. In June 2021, CLASP launched the new CLASP Policy Resource Center (CPRC), housing over 1500 policies across over 120 economies. The CPRC covers energy and water efficiency policies for on-grid products, as well as quality standards for off-grid products. It features expanded functionality, including policy database updates for subscribers, refined search tools to easily navigate policies, and a collection of energy and water efficiency label images.