The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) officially launched the Regional Green Public Procurement Guidelines for Energy-Efficient Room Air Conditioners during the 26th ASEAN Energy Business Forum (AEBF-26) in Manila, the Philippines, on 5 October 2026. Developed with support from the Asia Low Carbon Buildings Transition (ALCBT) Project, the guidelines provide a regional reference to help ASEAN Member States (AMS) leverage public procurement in accelerating the adoption of high-efficiency and climate-friendly air conditioners.
Photo 1. Launch of Regional Green Public Procurement (GPP) Guidelines at the 26th ASEAN Energy Business Forum
As cooling demand continues to grow across ASEAN, improving the efficiency of air conditioners is essential to reduce electricity consumption, energy costs, and emissions. While more advanced cooling technologies are already available, higher upfront prices remain a barrier for wider adoption. Green public procurement (GPP) offers an opportunity to address this challenge by creating stronger demand for higher efficiency products, complementing existing minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), and energy labelling programmes.
The guidelines were introduced by Cahyo Adisaputro, Senior Officer of Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) at ACE, who presented green technical criteria for AC, especially high efficiency energy performance, low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant, and life-cycle costs (LCC) components. The guidelines encourage procurement decisions not to consider only initial purchase prices but also electricity consumption, maintenance, and long-term economic value.
Photo 2. Cahyo Adisaputro, Senior Officer at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation (EE&C) Department, ACE, presented the GPP Guidelines Criteria
The session opened with remarks from Patrick Aquino, Director of the Energy Utilisation Management Bureau (EUMB), Department of Energy of the Philippines and Dr. Pongpan Vorasayan, Director of the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE), Thailand, and the Chair of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Sub-Sector Network (EE&C-SSN). Both remarks highlighted the potential of government purchasing to create demand and encourage manufacturers to supply higher-efficiency products.
Patrick said during his speech “Government is one of the largest buyers in every ASEAN economy. When public procurement asks for efficient, low-GWP, verified products, and judges them on life-cycle costs rather than purchase price alone, it sends a clear market signal that manufacturers and suppliers cannot ignore”.The statement was echoed by Dr Pongpan Vorasayan saying “Public procurement can act as that catalyst for the shift to more efficient product. By aggregating demand and purchasing at scale, government can influence market transformation by creating an immediate, visible market signal”.
Photo 3. Opening remarks from Patrick Aquino, Director of the Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB) and Dr. Pongpan Vorasayan, Director of the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE)
Photo 4. Panel session composing of (From Left to Right) Dr. Yan Vandeluxe Deputy Director General, Department of Construction, Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC), Cambodia; Patrick Aquino, Director of the Energy Utilisation Management Bureau (EUMB), Department of Energy of the Philippines; Saikiran Kasamsetty, Energy Efficiency Specialist, UNEP United for Efficiency (U4E); Ratsak Tongim, Assistant General Manager, ASEAN and Oceania Environment Promotion Office Division, Daikin Industries; Julie Robles Project Manager of ALCBT, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI); and Rizky Aditya Putra, Project Manager of ALCBT, ACE, as the moderator
As part of the launching, a panel discussion titled “Transforming Market for Energy Efficient Space Cooling in ASEAN” brought together Dr. Yan Vandeluxe (MLMUPC Cambodia), Patrick Aquino (DOE Philippines), Saikiran Kasamsetty (UNEP U4E), RatsakTongim (Daikin Industries) and Julie Robles (GGGI). The discussion was moderated by Rizky Aditya Putra, Project Manager of ALCBT at ACE, discussing market transformation towards energy efficient space cooling in ASEAN.
During the panel discussion, SaikiranKasamsetty of UNEP United for Efficiency (U4E) and Ratsak Tongim of Daikin Industries emphasised that consistent procurement requirements can provide manufacturers with clearer market signals, supporteconomies of scale, and potentially reduce the price premium of efficient technologies.
Saikiran Kasamsetty explained the importance of a Regional GPP Guidelines in creating a harmonised regional market which benefits not just manufacturers, but also governments themselves. This acknowledges the diversity in cooling markets in ASEAN that create complexity and can bea challenge for manufacturers to navigate. Ratsak Tonginalso emphasised that regional alignment in standards and procurement criteria could also reduce market fragmentation and support more competitive product supply across ASEAN.
The discussion addressed the financial barriers to wider adoption. Julie Robles, Project Manager of ALCBT at the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), highlighted the importance of life-cycle costing, alongside targeted incentives, financing mechanisms, and bulk procurement, in overcoming higher upfront costs.
Reflecting on national experiences, Patrick Aquino highlighted the Philippines' procurement framework, which enables consideration of long-term economic value beyond initial purchase prices, while acknowledging the need for financing support. Meanwhile, Dr. Yan Vandeluxe of Cambodia's Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction (MLMUPC) further emphasised the importance of institutional coordination and technical support in advancing green procurement as part of the wider transition towards lowcarbon.
Looking ahead, panellists identified national adaptation of the guidelines, harmonised testing and certification, verified product information, financing support, and stronger market surveillance as important priorities. Continued cooperation between governments, manufacturers, and development partners will be essential to translate regional guidance into practical procurement measures.
Concluding the discussion, Patrick Aquino summarised the complementary roles of these instruments: “We have standards setting the floor. We have labels that inform choices. And we have public procurement creating the demand. So if ASEAN [brings these] three tools together, we can really move the market towards more efficient, climate-friendly cooling”.
The launch marks an important step towards strengthening the role of public procurement in ASEAN's cooling market transformation. By providing a common framework for purchasing higher-efficiency technologies, the Regional GPP Guidelines for Air Conditioners offers ASEAN Member States a practical tool to encourage market demand, reduce long-term energy costs, and support the transition towards more sustainable cooling.
Read the related publication, Transforming ASEAN's Room Air-Conditioner Market through Green Public Procurement.
