Clean Cooking Catalog: A Global Guide to Clean Cooking Solutions
The Global Alliance and many of its partners are returning home after a great 3rd Year Anniversary celebration. Three years ago, we gathered in New York City to hear former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton launch the Alliance. This past week, Secretary Clinton returned to show her continued support, including highlighting our collective Standards and Testing efforts. “There aren’t many places I’d go for a party where people would applaud efficiency standards. You’re my kind of people,” she said. Secretary Clinton also applauded the activities of the Alliance and its Partners to catalyze market growth, highlighted in the 2012 Results Report (full report, executive summary) which was also released at the anniversary event. The Results Report summarizes partner activities over the last year (thanks to those who submitted information through the survey) and areas we can continue to strengthen.
Partners reported a high level of testing activities in 2012. Survey results show that 84% of manufacturers from 48 countries reported that their stoves were tested by third party testing centers and/or internally. However, comparing testing data reported in reports and publications to testing activities tracked in this survey, it is clear that only a small fraction of testing data is being reported publically. In many cases, testing data should remain proprietary, especially in the technology development phase. At the same time, increased openness and transparency of data can help those in the sector understand and improve performance and quality over time.
In response to this need, the Alliance also announced the Clean Cooking Catalog, a global guide to clean cooking solutions. This online database includes technology options, specifications, prices, and publically available stove performance data. Because of the gap between testing activities and reported testing results, the main goal of the Catalog at this stage is to provide a framework for integrating future testing data and stove information together, especially as technologies continue to improve. We expect that the Catalog will be a first step towards more openness about testing data, which will help consumers and investors evaluate options and encourage manufacturers to improve and then market their products.
The Catalog contains data from a compilation of stove performance data conducted by the Berkeley Air Monitoring Group. This compilation included publications and reports from NGOs, consultants, private research groups, and government agencies, from 1996 – 2012. Keep Software developed the online, user friendly, searchable website. Many Alliance Partners have also submitted data, including through the Alliance’s annual Results Reporting Survey. Data included in the Catalog from the Results Reporting survey has been shared with permission from these partners.
To submit testing data to be included in the Catalog or to provide feedback on the Catalog, please contact catalog@cleancookstoves.org.