Among the ELI countries, the Philippines served
as a test-bed for a significant education campaign that aimed
to promote the benefits of energy-efficient lighting while cautioning
consumers about less-than-optimal lighting products flowing into
the country. As such, the vast majority of the ELI Philippines’
program was devoted to educating consumers, vendors, and lighting
specifiers.
Product Testing: The Department
of Energy’s Lighting and Appliance Testing Laboratory (LATL)
provides product testing services for the Department of Trade
& Industry’s Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS),
a government agency that issues both the Product Quality and Product
Safety marks for compact fluorescent lamps and a host of other
consumer items.
During the program’s initial phase, ELI
noted that although the LATL had a strong reputation, it was weak
on resources for additional testing and rigorous technical evaluations
of products. Given the plethora of inferior lighting products
flowing into the country, LATL was understaffed and lacked adequate
technical resources to assess the new technologies. Furthermore,
although some lamps met manufacturers’ claims of 1,000 hours
of operation, LATL recognized that consumers expect the lamps
to last 6,000 to 10,000 hours without significant lumen depreciation,
and attested that the facility could not conduct tests with its
antiquated equipment and limited staff.
Since then, ELI sought to collaborate with various
government agencies such as the Department of Energy (DOE) and
the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as pro-active partners
in the transformation of the lighting industry. ELI provided the
funds necessary to acquire $200,000 worth of testing equipment
to bolster the LATL’s capabilities of testing legally imported
CFLs, and by May 2002, all shipments had been delivered to the
laboratory.
With the LATL on its way to becoming a world-class
testing laboratory for lighting products, they remain supportive
of the global ELI program. The LATL provided for testing services
to test for ELI compliance of over 500 CFL samples from the seven
ELI countries, as well as over 240 samples from the local market
While the DOE provides product-testing services
for the DTI-BPS, the DTI provides the Asian region with model
product standards for CFLs, linear fluorescent lamps, electromagnetic
and electronic ballasts, and other lighting products.
From May 2000 to July 2001, upon the invitation
of BPS Director Jesus Motoomull, ELI sat in the monthly meetings
of the BPS Technical Committee No. 4 (TC04) for lamps and related
equipment as an active observer.
ELI’s contributions had been significant
in the amendment of the Philippine National Standard (PNS) for
self-ballasted lamps. It has led to the subsequent inclusion in
the PNS of certain standards suggestive of ELI specifications,
such as lumen maintenance as a standard and lumens efficacy “lumens
per watt” and lamp life in hours as mandatory information
on product packaging.
In June 2003, the DOE and DTI finally signed into
agreement the Implementing Guidelines for the Performance and
Labeling Requirements on Self-Ballasted Lamps for General Lighting
Service. The implementation of the government’s mandatory
energy labeling program for lighting systems is based largely
on PNS 603 Part 2. The energy label will provide consumers with
information on government measured key lamp specifications such
as light output, power consumption, efficacy, and average life.
The CFL Energy Label was unveiled to the public during the opening
ceremony of 2002 National Energy Week.
ELI Philippines supported this labeling initiative
of the government as this would serve as a model labeling program
for other ASEAN member countries and the rest of the Asia Pacific
region. It would also lead consumers towards the purchase of higher
quality, longer lasting and energy efficient CFLs.
Labeling with the ELI logo:
An important aspect of ELI’s market intervention strategy
was to leave a legacy of efficient equipment and purchasing practices
in the country and in the region. By working with manufacturers
that provide the products to the Philippines and the other ELI
countries, ELI instituted a logo that gives consumers a quick
and easily identifiable icon for efficiency.
The ELI green leaf logo, or ELI seal, is the highest
symbol of quality for energy efficient lighting. Coinciding with
the 12 October 2000 ELI launch event was the unveiling of the
ELI logo to the Filipino public. In order for lighting manufacturers’
products to carry the logo, their products have to meet stringent
ELI technical specifications.
Since day one, it had been the country team’s
objective to bring the world’s “Big Three” lighting
manufacturers namely Philips, GE, and Osram into the ELI bandwagon.
The Big Three were briefed on the program, its proponents, as
well as the ELI application process. By the end of 2000, all three
companies had submitted their CFL applications for product qualification,
and applied for the ELI seal at company cost for their CFL models
that have met or exceeded ELI’s specifications, making them
“ELI-qualified.”
As of 07 January 2003, the country team is proud
to announce that around 46 ELI-qualified CFL models are currently
available in the market, a 75% increase from October 2000 levels.
This impressive boost can be attributed to at least two factors:
(1) ELI-facilitated entry of an imported, non-Big Three brand
into the market; and (2) ELI-driven upgrade of a major brand’s
3,000-hour CFL model to meet ELI specifications. In line with
this, ELI is also working to get ballast manufacturers into the
Program.
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Launch
of ELI logo
12 October 2000 |
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Tri-Media Campaign: The largest
single budget item was for the Tri-Media Campaign, which was the
cornerstone of the ELI activities in the Philippines. Over $1
million was allocated for this function over the three-year period.
The implementation of the campaign was based on ELI’s message,
the products qualified by the global ELI program, and the establishment
of co-marketing relationships with manufacturers and distributors.
During the Program Launch on 12 October 2000,
ELI initiated a PR, Advocacy, and Advertising Campaign (PRAAC)
to highlight the benefits of high-quality energy efficient CFLs
that have been qualified by ELI (i.e. products that bear the ELI
seal), as well as to warn consumers about illegally labeled, low-quality
products.
The ELI PRAAC has taken form in four waves. The
first and second waves covered twelve (12) months from October
2000 to October 2001. It provided ELI with a major presence in
TV, radio, and print media, coupled with strategic below-the-line
media exposure and Point-of-Sale activities to supplement the
campaign. While the result of this initial market penetration
was positive, it revealed that a clearer understanding of the
ELI seal’s significance was needed in order to dispel the
confusion in the minds of the people.
The third (from May to December 2002) and fourth
(from February to September 2003) waves were conceptualized to
specifically address this need. Focusing on print advertisements,
press releases and billboard signs that displayed only the logo
and ELI’s quality standards, the third and fourth waves
of the PR, Advocacy and Advertising campaign supported its predecessors
and built a defined concept of ELI and the ELI seal in the market.
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PR,
Advocacy and Advertising Campaign |
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Point-of-Sale Support & Vendor Education: There
was clearly a need to better educate retailers of lighting products
about energy efficiency so that they can sell more premium quality
CFLs that will translate into savings for consumers and larger
profit margins for retailers. By examining the product distribution
chain, ELI was able to determine where to focus and direct its
resources.
A massive Point-of-Sale support campaign engaged
a sizable group of ELI representatives tasked to visit close to
2,000 supermarkets, hardware and specialty stores throughout Metro
Manila that sell lighting products. In the course of five months
during the last quarter of 2001, they installed promotional materials
such as shelf pointers, mobiles, stickers and leaflet standees
on display in establishments that carry ELI-qualified products.
The POS Specialists also conducted interviews with the store staff
in order to estimate their level of ELI awareness and to explain
the concept of the ELI program and the promotion of the ELI seal.
In the second quarter of 2002, a second wave of
the POS Campaign was implemented to revisit the almost 2,000 stores
covered in the first wave. The purpose was to provide display
refills for each store and to conduct a second interview, this
time surveying the general understanding of the vendors about
ELI based on information learned from the first visit and the
Vendor Education (VE) Seminars held in February 2002. There was
a 58% increase in the level of awareness of ELI among the hardware
store staff, from 27% during the first campaign to a survey result
of 85% in the second POS Campaign.
The ELI Vendor Education Seminars were a series
of five training sessions, each one held in a major geographical
zone of Metro Manila. Each seminar sought to educate the hardware
store managers and staff about efficient lighting technologies
that were currently being sold in the market, and the significant
role they, as retailers, play in the aspect of market transformation.
By equipping the vendors with the knowledge of the benefits in
advocating efficient lighting, they virtually become ELI representatives
that have the unique opportunity to make a direct impact in the
transformation of the lighting market.
Product Promotion: The Promotional Activity in
Upscale Hardware Stores, held from February to June 2003, targeted
the 20 branches of True Value, Handyman and ACE Hardware stores
in Metro Manila. These stores were the most difficult to penetrate
during the POS Support Campaign.
The activity provided visibility for ELI and created
consumer awareness by assisting customers in making energy efficient
purchase decisions. ELI promodizers were stationed in the 19 outlets
of True Value and Handyman for a period of twelve weeks; while
leaflets were distributed by store staff in the largest patronized
ACE Hardware outlet in Metro Manila. The mechanics for the activity
involved direct contact with the consumer and assistance in the
CFL selection/purchase process, distribution of the ELI flyers,
and explanation of the ELI concept. The additional 20 stores complemented
the hardware stores visited during the POS campaigns.
Professional Training & Standards
Development: ELI collaborated with the Institute of Integrated
Electrical Engineers of the Philippines, Inc. (IIEE) in May 2002
to develop an “IIEE-ELI Manual of Practice on Efficient
Lighting.” The manual was formally launched during the IIEE’s
27th Annual National Convention in November 2002. It is being
made available by IIEE to lighting designers, specifiers, contractors,
suppliers and other interested parties as a handbook that would
complement the building and electrical codes of the Philippines.
IIEE has also promised to promote the manual during its regional
meetings nationwide to meet its objective of updating its continuing
professional education programs for electrical engineers around
the country.
Demonstration Sites: The National Energy Week
is held annually to promote the achievements of the Philippine
energy sector. It serves as a venue to promote energy efficiency
in the Philippines among other energy-related objectives. It was
during this time in December 2001 that the DOE lighting retrofit
was successfully completed and showcased. The DOE retrofit was
envisioned to be the pioneer in lighting retrofits accomplished
by an energy service company (ESCO) in the Philippines. It served
as a high-profile “efficient energy” model for other
government institutions and private establishments to follow.
It also provided an example to financing organizations and government
agencies involved in standardizing energy efficient practices
for the public and private sector. The ELI team aided CPI Energy,
an aspiring ESCO, in conceptualizing the retrofit project and
providing collaboration and organization among seven lamp, ballast
and luminaire manufacturers in the country. The country team assisted
in negotiations with DOE and checked the lamps and ballasts for
compliance with ELI specifications. Through this activity, ELI
was successful in leveraging ESCO and lighting manufacturer support
for a $10,000 lighting retrofit in high-visibility areas of the
Department of Energy.
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MOA
Signing for the DOE Lighting Retrofit
07 December 2001 |
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