The automated process that awarded the Energy Star seal of approval for fictitious appliances like the infamous gasoline-powered alarm clock, has been replaced by a new system that EPA and Dept. of Energy officials hope will prevent gaming of the standards and certification program.

Under the new rules, manufacturers are required to submit complete lab test results of the appliances in question before applying for Energy Star. The approval process for appliances will also no longer be automated, meaning that a staff member will review each application that comes in the door.

Finally, and this one's the real kicker--manufacturers will be unable to put the Energy Star logo on products that have not been specifically approved. According to an audit conducted on the Energy Star program, in the past, companies were able to download the Energy Star logo from a government Web site and slap it on products they had not even submitted for certification.

According to reports, the new system will prevent that from happening. But by the end of 2010, the plan is to have testing performed and the data submitted by independent certification labs. Until now, third-party had not been required of appliance manufacturers, only a handful of categories including windows, doors and compact fluorescent lighting.

Some companies getting a head start on independent testing

LG Electronics Inc. already announced they will be working with three major certification authorities to test and certify LG products, but they're not doing it purely out of a desire to be good corporate citizens. After LG was busted for its dodgy Energy Star testing procedures in late 2009 and early 2010, the company needed a big boost to regain some credibility in terms of their efficiency claims.

LG's plan is to conduct tests in nine categories of products including refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and TVs. The tests, which will be conducted by Underwriters Laboratories, Intertek and CSA International will eventually cover LG's full product line.

LG said that by joining forces with well-respected certification bodies and other stakeholders the industry can develop "a trusted uniform testing system" that can be used globally to "reduce unnecessary regional barriers to world trade."

But LG isn't the only one in need of some good PR right now. Federal officials are hoping that the new Energy Star certification requirements will bolster the program's credibility. "The safeguards we’re putting into effect are essential for the millions of consumers who rely on Energy Star products to help save energy, money and the environment,” Gina McCarthy, the E.P.A.’s assistant administrator for air and radiation, said in a news release.

The evidence of loose standards uncovered by the audit begs the question: why wasn't the protocol more rigorous in the first place? The problem with voluntary systems of governance like the voluntary reporting used in appliance certification is that there can be an incentive to game the system. But as Nobel Prize-winning political economist Elinor Ostrom demonstrated in her work on managing the commons, voluntary systems of governance are only as strong as the rules and the relationships among stakeholders.

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