New $300 Million Consumer Rebate Program for Buying Energy Star® Appliances Likely to Spur Market Demand for Energy Efficient Products

04 Feb 2009

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee recently announced a $300 million economic stimulus provision to provide consumers with rebates for buying Energy Star products to replace old appliances. Intertek (LSE: ITRK), a global leader in testing, inspection and certification services, has fortified its global network of energy efficiency testing labs – totaling 4 in Europe, 10 in North America and 6 across Asia Pacific – to support manufacturers’ Energy Star testing needs resulting from increased consumer demand for energy efficient products.

“We’ve fortified our lab capacity globally for an expected uptick in energy efficiency evaluations from 2009, forward,” said Gregg Tiemann, chief executive, Intertek Commercial and Electrical division. “We expect that government and industry incentive programs will continue to foster a market pull from consumers. On the push side, regulatory drivers will advance the energy efficiency agenda, beginning with reduced standby/off-mode power consumption of electrical and electronic products, and the European Union’s new Energy Using Products (EuP) Directive. More than ever before, we are seeing manufacturers’ energy efficiency strategies shifting from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must have’.”

Improving energy performance, developing clean and sustainable energy, and protecting the environment are key initiatives that appliance manufacturers globally are undertaking to appeal to environmental- and cost-conscious consumers. According to the latest data available from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans purchased about 500 million Energy Star qualified products in 2007 across more than 50 product categories, including household appliances, which was a 67% increase over the previous year.

In January 2009, it was forecasted by Appliance Magazine that while overall 2008 appliance shipments were down over 2007, but in the coming year economic stimuli such as the federal rebate program would spur new appliance sales.

Intertek’s energy efficiency (testing and certification) pedigree covers such notable programs as Energy Star, Energy Guide Label and California Energy Commission in the United States, and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). Globally, Intertek provides testing for Europe’s Eco Label and European Energy Label programs, and China’s Energy Label, Taiwan’s Green Mark and the Australian Energy Rating Label Program, among others. Intertek maintains the accreditations, expertise and state-of-the-art facilities throughout its global network of energy efficiency testing laboratories to help manufacturers meet regional and market requirements.

Intertek also conducts energy efficiency testing for product certification programs administered by AHAM (Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers) and AHRI (Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute).