Standards & Testing

The best available international guidelines for stoves and fuels are being developed through an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) consensus process, specifically ISO Technical Committee 285. This committee, which comprises experts from 45 countries, has issued four publications to date: a standard on laboratory testing covering performance, safety, and durability (ISO 19867-1); a technical report on voluntary performance targets for cookstoves (ISO/TR 19867-3); a standard on field-testing methods (ISO 19869); and a technical report on vocabulary for the clean cooking sector (ISO/TR 21276). 

Development of the standard, which was supported by the Alliance, was informed by learnings about the advantages and limitations of previous protocols, as well as the latest sector research. A key learning was the need to better reflect local context and practices, and the newly published document allows for customization in reporting, while still maintaining harmonization in testing to compare products.

Participating in standards development allows organizations and governments to share their experiences and priorities, which makes standards more relevant, consistent, and clear. CCA continues to support this process and encourages others to join.