A report released in 2007 by the USAID ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program found that as many as half the compact fluorescent  lamps (CFLs) produced in Asia are substandard – producing less light or burning out more quickly than advertised. Suppliers are concerned that consumer dissatisfaction with shoddy CFLs will threaten the spectacular growth of energy saving CFLs in Asia.

Under the umbrella of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate (APP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of Australia, as part of their joint efforts to promote energy-efficient lighting in Asia, supported the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) called the “Manila Compact” which is an agreement between CFL  suppliers to develop a quality identification system for integrated Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLi) in Asia.

The MOU, which was signed in June 2008 by lighting companies, manufacturers, lighting councils and associations as well as supporting organizations, led to a new agreement called the Asia CFL Quality Charter, in which lighting suppliers in Asia agreed to develop performance levels to rate CFL quality, establish a system for product marking, and set-up a regional database for consumers to identify which CFLs meet quality standards.

The common vision of the Charter members is to develop an industry-driven system for qualifying and marking good -quality CFLs for Asia. The system will be voluntary, will be consistent with the standards of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and will be based on the IEC safety and performance test standards (60968 and 60969). It is envisioned that the regional quality rankings will eventually become de facto quality standards for the region, with 3 quality levels indicating “good”, “better”, and “best.”