The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) has partnered with CSA Standards and UL Environment to jointly develop voluntary sustainability standards for home appliances. The new standards will take a life cycle approach and are intended to be used by governments, retailers and other initiatives to identify environmentally responsible products. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) has partnered with CSA Standards and UL Environment to jointly develop voluntary sustainability standards for home appliances. The new standards will take a life cycle approach and are intended to be used by governments, retailers and other initiatives to identify environmentally responsible products. “Manufacturers are committed to providing this solution to their customers,” said Joseph M. McGuire, president of AHAM. “This partnership provides the necessary expertise to produce credible sustainability standards for home appliances. A major element of appliance sustainability clearly is energy consumption. We will build on our expertise in the energy area but will also employ a life cycle approach to identify and measure other significant environmental aspects of appliances. UL and CSA Standards, leading North American standards development organizations for appliances, have the credibility and expertise for this initiative.” As part of the standards development process, the group will engage a cross section of stakeholders to ensure that the standard is both credible and compatible with existing government and retailer initiatives. “Our ultimate aim is to develop a metric that will instill consumer confidence,” said McGuire.
