Brazil Commercial Air Conditioner Market Assessment
CLASP is seeking a contractor to conduct a comprehensive market assessment of common commercial AC equipment in Brazil.
Background
CLASP serves at the epicenter of collaborative, ambitious efforts to mitigate climate change and in the global movement for clean energy access, through appliance efficiency. Our mission is to improve the energy and environmental performance of the appliances & equipment we use every day, accelerating our transition to a more sustainable world. We work hand-in-hand with governments, experts, industry, consumers, donor organizations and others to propel policies and markets toward the highest quality, lowest resource-intensive appliances possible.
CLASP has worked in more than 100 countries since inception in 1999. CLASP is headquartered in Washington, DC, with teams in China, Europe and the United Kingdom, India, Indonesia, and Kenya. We are mission-driven and committed to a culture of diversity, transparency, collaboration, and impactful work. See our Team Page to learn more about us.
In Brazil, CLASP collaborates with the Brazilian National Electricity Conservation Program (Procel) and the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (INMETRO) to advance and improve energy efficiency policies for large energy consuming products. We share international best practices and conduct analysis of the impacts of product energy efficiency to support local agencies achieving national energy goals.
Introduction
CLASP is collaborating with Procel to support minimum energy performance standard(s) (MEPS) and/or labeling policies for commercial air conditioning (AC). Commercial air conditioning is not currently addressed by any product policy in Brazil, despite being a large and growing source of electricity demand. The ongoing energy crises fueled by deteriorating hydrological conditions in the reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants serving a large portion of Brazil’s energy supply, has increased the need to reduce energy consumption in all sectors, including commercial end-uses.
A national market assessment for common commercial AC equipment is critical to support the development of appropriate and robust commercial AC energy efficiency policies, and estimate the potential energy savings and carbon emissions reductions of these policies.
CLASP is seeking a contractor to conduct a comprehensive market assessment of common commercial AC equipment in Brazil. This study will support Procel’s evidence-based decision making by characterizing the commercial AC market and identifying barriers to increased market penetration of more efficient commercial AC equipment.
Scope of Work
The Consultant will be responsible for successfully executing the following activities and tasks as part of the study. Execution of all activities and tasks must be conducted in close consultation with Procel and CLASP.
Task 1: Data Collection
Assess the size of the national market for common commercial AC equipment (number and sizes) by conducting market surveys, interviews, visits to equipment vendors, and other data collection exercises. The data collected should include, but not be limited to:
- Market size and characteristics: installed stock, overall sales and production (imports vs domestic manufacturing, new vs second hand), demand growth, major end-use sectors, detailed market breakdown by size; segmentation of industry (small/medium/large scale) and their market share, supply chain of major components, and main distribution/supply chain channels and other relevant parameters
- Product characteristics: brand/model information, country of origin, type of equipment, sizes, energy efficiency parameters, and prices
- End users: usage patterns of commercial AC equipment, such as number of hours use per day
- Other: Any other data as may be necessary for the analysis
Task 2: Market Forecast
Develop a market growth forecast for common commercial AC equipment in Brazil. The forecast should be accompanied by an analysis of key drivers of market penetration.
Task 3: Identify Barriers
Identify the barriers that exist to increased market penetration of efficient common commercial AC equipment and provide recommendations to address those barriers. This may include barriers related to manufacturing, technology, consumer issues (service, price, quality, etc.), and policy implementation.
Key Milestones and Deliverables
- Inception report, detailing initial progress on data collection, issues identified (and plans for resolution) and next steps.
- Interim report, detailing progress on the data collection.
- Excel spreadsheet which includes all the collected data.
- Draft final report, encompassing all of the data analysis, recommendations, and qualitative observations.
- Final comprehensive report, responding to the comments provided by CLASP and Procel on the draft final report.
Timeline
Contract Timeframe: December 2021 to June 2022
Deadline for Application: 15 November 2021
Application includes registering as a Consulting Partner and submitting the technical and financial proposals per the instructions below.
Deadline for Questions: 29 October 2021
All questions must be sent in English to Katriana Dubytz at kdubytz@clasp.ngo. We request all inquiries be made to this e-mail address and not by phone.
Key Qualifications
- Experience conducting market studies for appliances and equipment in Brazil
- Demonstrated ability to collect comprehensive market data for energy-consuming products in Brazil
- Understanding of the Brazilian energy efficiency policymaking ecosystem
- Experience with and understanding of appliance and equipment standards and labeling policies
Submittal
Register as a Consulting Partner
Interested parties must register as a CLASP Consulting Partner.
Submit Technical and Financial Proposals
Interested parties should submit separate technical and financial proposals electronically, in English, via this form link (preferably in PDF format). The files should be named as per the following example:
[CONTRACTOR_NAME] _Technical Proposal_ RFP 2021-11-15
[CONTRACTOR_NAME] _Financial Proposal_ RFP 2021-11-15
The length of the technical proposal should not exceed 20 pages and should include:
- Detailed approach and methodology for the design, implementation, and management of the project
- Detailed timeline for all project activities, tasks, milestones, and deliverables for the project within the time frame indicated above
- Background and experience of conducting similar activities
- A summary of qualifications and experience of key personnel that will execute the project
The financial proposal (in USD) should include a detailed budget with all direct and indirect cost estimates for executing the project, including a breakdown (in days) of the level of effort and costs associated with each team member that will be engaged in the project.
CVs and related summaries of experience and qualifications of proposed project team staff should be included in an Annex and should not exceed 10 pages.
CLASP looks forward to reviewing your responses and would like to thank you in advance for your participation in this Request for Proposals. CLASP will notify all respondents who submit proposals when a decision has been made.
Evaluation Procedure
A committee appointed by CLASP will evaluate proposals received. Selection of qualified companies or organizations will be based upon the following criteria:
- Technical Evaluation Factors
- Financial Evaluation Factors
All bids will be evaluated and ranked using Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS), with 80 percent of the score accorded to the technical proposal, and 20 percent to the financial proposal. The detailed evaluation criteria can be found in Annex A.
ANNEX A: EVALUATION CRITERIA
Technical Approach (35 points): The technical approach described in the proposals will be evaluated on:
- The demonstrated understanding of the overall project context (15).
- The detailed work plan and approach clearly defining the target objectives and the strategy to achieve the objectives as outlined in the scope of work (20).
Management Structure and Staff Qualification (25 points): The proposed management structure and staff will be evaluated on:
- The professional qualifications and the extent to which the requisite expertise and experience of the key personnel will directly contribute to the completion of the tasks (25).
Past Performance and Corporate Experience (20 points): The experience and capacities of the contractor will be evaluated based on:
- The past performance, familiarity, and experience in understanding policies and program related to standards and labelling (10).
- Extent of local expertise including experience, qualifications, and track record in implementation of similar programs (10).
Cost Evaluation Factors (20 points): While the overall Technical Evaluation is the key factor in reviewing the proposal, the cost evaluation will be an essential factor in determining the final contract award and ability to remain in the competitive range and will be evaluated for feasibility, completeness, and practicality.
RFP Questions & Answers
CLASP has provided answers to questions submitted in reference to this RFP. Find our responses below.
The question period closes on 29 October 2021
Q: Does the contractor need to be based in Brazil in order to apply?
A: It is not required that the consultant be based in Brazil to apply, however, the market assessment would be difficult to conduct without some presence and/or experience working in Brazil.
Q: Can you share the budget and/or anticipated Level of Effort (LoE) for this project?
A: We will not be disclosing LoE or budget expectations during the RFP stage for this project. This allows us to consider proposals without the risk of good ideas being left out due to budgetary concerns, and gives us opportunity to reassess our initial budget ideas if needed. Per the Evaluation Criteria listed on the RFP, Cost Evaluation Factors account for 20 points and the Technical Evaluation Factors account for 80 points. If a Technical Proposal is promising but the Financial Proposal is outside our range, we will work together to identify opportunities to bring our numbers closer together. LoE is dependent on the resources a prospective contractor has access to.
Q: What exactly does CLASP understand as “common commercial AC equipment”? Does this refer to only the small and unitary equipment (like window, split, and VRF AC) or does it include larger centralized equipment as well (like chillers, rooftops, and others)?
A: The focus of this project is on unitary equipment, such as multi-splits and VRFs (excluding the equipment that is covered by existing ENCE policies).
Q: What end-users should be considered?
A: This AC type is largely used in commercial settings, however, we will be looking at all user types (residential, commercial, industrial, etc.). Priority end-users will be identified as part of the project.
Q: What exactly is meant by “number and sizes” in the first line of Task 1: “Assess the size of the national market for common commercial AC equipment (number and sizes)”?
A: Since this project is focused on unitary equipment, we would look for the number of units sold and their sizes in BTU/h or TR.
Q: Is there a minimal sample (users, vendors) that needs to be evaluated? Also, considering the evaluation will be done nationally, is there a minimal sample per region or state? Is there interest in particular regions and/or states?
A: We have not identified a minimum sample, but the information should be provided at the country level and the evaluation should be broadly representative of all regions.
Q: In terms of end-users, are we looking to specific regions of Brazil to get perspective on daily consumption and other information or total Brazil? What are other information that would be relevant beyond daily consumption?
A: We would want a credible estimate of the installed stock across in all of Brazil as well as an estimate of the average daily consumption across the country, based on typical usage hours, capacity, and efficiency of the installed stock.
Q: Is there a preferable format for the market surveys and interviews (phone, video conference, etc.)? For the market survey, could an on-line tool be used, or is there another preferred method?
A: Interviews via phone or video conference would both be fine. On-line tools could be used for the market survey.
Q: In the evaluation of the market size and characteristics, it is requested to have a detailed market breakdown by the “segmentation of industry (small/medium/large scale)” – could you clarify if this refers to the AC industry?
A: Correct, the AC industry, particularly local manufacturers.
Q: In the second task, it is requested that the market forecast be done by an analysis of key drivers of market penetration. Does CLASP already have these key drivers, or they should be identified during the project?
A: Key drivers should be identified during the project.
Q: The RFP refers to installed stock. Is this the equivalent of the installed base of commercial air conditioning?
A: Yes.
Q: In the Task 2, it is asked to provide estimates on the forecast of commercial air conditioning. Is the forecast based on sales of new products, production or installed base?
A: The forecast should be informed by all information gathered under Task 1: Market size and characteristics, particularly sales of new products and installed base.
Q: In the alignment and first meeting with CLASP and during the execution will the vendor have interactions with Procel?
A: CLASP is evaluating proposals for this project and any initial meetings would just be between CLASP and the prospective vendor. Once under contract, the selected vendor will work in close consultation with both CLASP and Procel.
CLASP is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. CLASP’s goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. CLASP complies with all federal, state and local employment law in the countries we operate and is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, disability, political affiliation, personal appearance, family responsibilities, matriculation, genetic information, military or protected veteran status, credit information or any other characteristic protected under federal, state or local law.
Each person is evaluated based on personal skill and merit. CLASP’s policy regarding equal employment opportunity applies to all aspects of employment, including recruitment, hiring, job assignments, promotions, working conditions, scheduling, benefits, wage and salary administration, disciplinary action, termination, and social, educational and recreational programs.