Efficient Solution Label

The following eligibility criteria apply under all circumstances, a Solution must:

• A. Be a product (physical, digital, or financial product), a service, a process, or a combination of the above;
• B. Be developed and/or be partially/fully owned by a Member of the World Alliance;
• C. Present one or more economic incentives to its targeted clients over its lifetime. When compared to a Mainstream Alternative the Solution needs to present a lower purchasing price or a lower total cost of ownership (i.e., all costs associated with operating over its lifespan);
• D. Be already commercialized (available on the market) or aiming to be commercialized within five years. Therefore, the Solution should belong to the minimum maturity stage of Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6-7;
• E. Contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• SDG 6

  Clean Water and Sanitation

  

  SDG 7

  Affordable and Clean Energy

  

  SDG 9

  Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

  

  SDG 11

  Sustainable Cities and Communities

  

  SDG 12

  Responsible Consumption and production

  

• 1.Submission and Pre-screening of the Application
  Once the Applicant has verified the fulfillment of the Eligibility Criteria and has completed the Member profile, the official submission of their Solution for the Labeling process can begin. The applicant has access to the Member Dashboardwhere he/she can start filling in the Solution Submission Form (SSF). Once the SSF is initiated, applicants have 30 days to complete the application.
  
  
• 2.Assignment to Independent Experts and Evaluation Process
  Applications must be assigned to three external independent Experts in a process called matchmaking. The matching process is designed to impartially assign the Experts to solutions that match their field of expertise in order to ensure a competent evaluation.  Learn more about our Experts community here.
   
  Assessments are performed online via the Solution Assessment Form (SAF). Each SAF (one for each of the three independent Experts) needs to be completed and submitted within fifteen days after the Expert was officially assigned the Solution.
   
  Once a solution is assigned the evaluation process begins.  The assessment methodology is designed to evaluate candidate solutions against five criteria: Credibility, Scalability, Environmental Benefits, Client’s Economic Incentive, and Seller’s Profitability.
  
  
• 3.Deliberation
  Once three usable assessments are completed and validated by SIF’s Team, a final outcome can be determined. Both positive and negative outcomes will be communicated to both the Member and the Experts in written format (via email). Both rejected and Labeled Solutions receive feedback in the form of an Assessment Summary Report (ASR) which compiles the three usable assessments performed by the Experts assigned to the Solution.
  
  

In addition to the Assessment Summary Report (ASR) Labeled Solutions will receive a communication toolkit which contains the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution logo in several versions. Members are encouraged to communicate about the SIF Efficient Solution Label on both digital and physical materials within the guidelines provided by SIF. 

Products can be labeled with the SIF Efficient Solution Label logo starting from the day they receive their label (labeling date) up to three years’ time. After this time, labeled Solutions will maintain the right to promote their Solution using the Label (dated version) on their digital materials, but will lose the benefit of using the Label (un-dated version with ™ symbol) on physical products (e.g. packaging).  More information can be found on the Label Standards.

In 2022, as part of SIF’s continued commitment to upholding the value, credibility, and impact of its Label, the Label Update Program (with retroactive effect) will be introduced. The Label Update Program (LUP) aims at introducing a process for already-Labeled Solutions to reaffirm their association with SIF as well as receiving an official confirmation that their solution still meets SIF standards. More information can be found in our Label Standards.