Launched in May 2015 by the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), the Global Lighting Challenge (GLC) is a platform intended to aggregate and highlight ongoing national, regional and municipal efficient lighting policies and promote further public and private sector commitments to the deployment of high-efficiency and high-quality advanced lighting products, such as light-emitting diode (LED) lamps. The framing of the GLC is a global race to accelerate phase-in of such advanced lamps and lighting systems with a target of achieving cumulative global sales of 10 billion units as fast as possible.

In the short term, the initiative aims at being an "advertising" and commitment platform to accelerate the deployment of high-efficiency and high quality lighting. In the long term, it aims at creating a mechanism to drive efficiency policies through the implementation of criteria.

Representatives from 13 countries (Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States) and the European Commission endorsed the launch. The initiative is now seeking commitments from private-sector leaders and is partnering with leading energy efficiency programs (En.lighten initiative, 4E Solid State Lighting SSL Annex, IPEEC) to provide access to resources and information to help with identifying, procuring, and promoting advanced lighting, including the Challenge specifications and acceptance criteria.

The CEM Global Lighting Challenge is now seeking commitments from other national and subnational governments, companies, and other private sector leaders. The Challenge showcases new commitments and actions that are consistent with its guiding principles. Commitments can be to promote, buy, sell, or finance these products or to implement supporting policies. Commitments should be concrete and quantifiable, but are flexible in form. Ongoing efficient lighting actions and efforts to reduce energy usage, such as incorporating lighting controls into a target number of establishments, are also recognized. The Challenge may also highlight existing commitments to related domestic programs, such as labeling and standards.

Objectives:

• Increasing energy savings – implies a focus on efficiency and stringent criteria for defining efficiency and quality, as well as tracking (technical focus);
• Accelerating deployment of advanced lighting – implies a focus on number of products and maximizing number of commitments (focus on messaging, outreach, and promotion strategies);
• Expanding modern lighting access.

Guiding Principles:

• Commitments should utilize specifications for high(-quality and high-efficiency products;
• Delivery approaches should strive to be self-sustaining and deigned to minimize distortions to commercial markets;
• Programs should seek to ensure quality over the lifetime of the product/system.

Photo credit: Mike Deal (Flickr)