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Cooking Products Earn Sustainability Mark

WASHINGTON – The first wave of ovens and ranges have been certified under a new sustainability standard for home cooking products that was published last week by the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM).

The standard, which follows similar initiatives for laundry and refrigeration, was developed by an AHAM task force comprised of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Group and UL Environment, with input from manufactures and other stakeholders.

Like its predecessors, it was designed to gauge a product and its environmental impact in five key areas: materials; production and manufacturing management; energy consumption during use; technological innovation; quality; and end-of-life management.

The certification is the first of its kind globally for cooking appliances, which traditionally are not considered energy efficient by nature of their heat-producing function.

AHAM president Joseph McGuire said the new standard “continues our commitment to provide consumers and retailers with credible measures for comparing home appliance sustainability attributes.”

LG Electronics lays claim to having the first gas range to meet and exceed the certification requirements. Its LDG3036ST double-oven gas range passed muster with CSA, an independent, not-for-profit membership association, which is handling the testing and certification duties.

The group also issued a compliance certificate to LG’s flagship double-oven electric range (model LDE3037ST) for meeting the sustainability standard.

“Environmental sustainability has become as important to our customers as it has been to our company for a long time,” said LG senior VP and home appliance chief T.J. Lee. “LG is proud to be first in the industry with a gas range to be verified to the new sustainability standard.”

Samsung Electronics is also an early adherent of the standard, noting that its slide-in electric range with Flex Duo oven (model NE58F9710WS) – which allows users to change the size of the oven cavity – is the first oven worldwide to receive certification.

“By empowering consumers to customize their oven based on meal needs and only heat what is necessary, the range can consume less energy than traditional full-size ovens,” said John Herrington, recently named home appliances senior VP and general manager at Samsung Electronics America. “Sustainability is an important focus for Samsung, so we are proud to be recognized for our innovation and will continue to develop environmentally friendly products not only for the U.S. market, but also across the globe.”

Meanwhile Whirlpool, in line with its rank as the world’s largest majap maker, received UL Environment​ certification for no less than nine cooking models​, including seven ranges and two built-in ovens under the Whirlpool, Whirlpool Gold, Maytag and KitchenAid Architect platforms.

“We are proud to extend our commitment and leadership to sustainability by including cooking ranges and ovens,” said Maureen Sertich, the manufacturer’s North America sustainability lead. “Increased energy efficiency has been an important focus at Whirlpool for more than 40 years. This latest certification is exciting because it means consumers can find laundry, refrigeration and now cooking home appliances that meet the AHAM sustainability standards and can have efficient appliances in their home.”

CSA Group is a global provider of testing and certification services and a leading standards development organization.

UL Environment is the sustainability division of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), an independent, worldwide safety testing, certification and consulting company.

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