In many economies, energy efficiency initiatives represent the cornerstone of national policies designed to reduce energy consumption, tackle environmental issues such as climate change, and improve energy security. Standards and labeling (S&L) programs for appliances and equipment are proven to deliver the largest quantity of energy savings at the lowest cost compared to most other types of energy efficiency programs. The ability to maintain and increase these achievements relies on the development of effective market compliance regimes to ensure that products perform as claimed and consumers receive the services they pay for.

This report forms part of a project undertaken by Mark Ellis and Associates, commissioned by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in June 2011 under the auspices of the Expert Group on Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EGEE&C).

The project aims to compile and disseminate information on monitoring, verification and enforcement (MV&E) processes used by regulatory and enforcement agencies to ensure compliance in S&L programs within APEC economies.

The findings in this report are based on responses to a survey of 18 APEC economies, presentations made to the 39th APEC EGEE&C meeting in February 2012, and discussions with the energy efficiency community in the APEC region.

These results are compared to similar surveys of European member states and G20 countries and evaluated against the yardstick provided by‘Compliance Counts: A Practitioner’s Guidebook on Best Practice Monitoring, Verification, and Enforcement for Appliance Standards & Labeling,‘ published by CLASP and Mark Ellis & Associates.