The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) awarded the China National Institute of Standardization (CNIS) the 2003 Climate Protection Award on April 22, 2003 for being a leader in China on home appliance standards.

CNIS has developed minimum energy efficiency standards for fluorescent lamps, refrigerators, air conditioners, clothes washers, televisions, and power supplies, as well as criteria for energy information labels. These standards and related efficiency labels could save 277.5 TWh of electricity or 129 million tons of coal equivalent in 2020, which is about 404 million tons of carbon dioxide, 1.7 million tons of NOx, 18.3 million tons of SO2, and 10.4 million tons of PM10. For more details, please visit the U.S. EPA's website.