ASHRAE Commercialism Policy and Guidelines

ASHRAE Commercialism Policy Statement

1.201.009 ASHRAE Commercialism Policy (02-06-27-60/14-01-22-08)

1.201.009.1 ASHRAE is a technical society whose objective is to advance the arts and sciences of HVAC&R. The Society is not organized to advance commercial interests. ASHRAE’s restriction of membership to individuals reflects the Society’s non-commercial character. With the foregoing in mind, ASHRAE’s Commercialism Policy is as follows:

ASHRAE’s publications and activities shall be free of commercial bias and shall not imply ASHRAE endorsement of any commercial interest. Commercial recognition may be provided or implied when doing so is necessary to promote the arts and sciences of HVAC&R and the understanding of associated technology. Such opportunities for recognition shall be administered fairly and may include citations, sponsorships, advertising and acknowledgements.

1.201.009.2 ASHRAE Commercialism Guidelines

1. To disseminate knowledge and fulfill its objective, ASHRAE publishes literature; conducts educational programs, conducts technical meetings, and makes available data in electronic form. These publications and activities may include commercial recognition to promote understanding of technical content and awareness of available technology. Such recognition, however, must not imply ASHRAE endorsement of a product or service, nor may the focus of any ASHRAE work or activity be to promote a commercial product or service, whether in the public or private sector.
2. Responsibility for implementing ASHRAE’s Commercialism Policy resides with the Society’s councils and committees, Regional Officers and Chapter Board of Governors. These groups should draw upon their unique understanding of their assigned activities to establish operating procedures and make decisions that are consistent with the Society’s policy. These Commercialism Guidelines are intended to be of assistance when applying the Commercialism Policy and making commercialism judgments that are fair, are beneficial to the membership, and protect the integrity of ASHRAE publications and activities. They apply to all levels of ASHRAE activity – Society, regional and chapter – and address ASHRAE recognition of all external groups – public and private; for profit and not for profit; commercial and non-commercial.
3. ASHRAE’s Commercialism Guidelines consist of two sections.
   1. The Guiding Principles section sets forth the basic criteria that each instance of commercial recognition must meet.
   2. The Examples of Policy Intent provide specific guidance as to what the Society has already determined to be acceptable and unacceptable instances of commercial recognition. These Examples of Policy Intent are not a complete list of policy applications, nor are they intended tocover the full intent of the policy. They provide guidance.
4. When deciding on approval of activities that include commercial recognition, councils, committees, Regional Officers and Chapter Board members must determine if the intent of the Commercialism Policy Statement is met and if the criteria identified as Guiding Principles are satisfied. If so, it is the responsibility of councils and committees to revise their respective manuals of procedures as needed.

1.201.009.3 Guiding Principles

1. ASHRAE use of commercial names and logos shall not be done in ways that imply ASHRAEendorsement, approval or certification.
2. If ASHRAE publications and activities are sponsored by commercial entities or other external groups, the opportunities for sponsorship shall be widely available and fairly administered.
3. The intent of any ASHRAE presentation or paper shall be to educate the ASHRAE audience about research or technological application, not to advertise nor promote commercial entities or other external groups.
4. The inclusion of commercial information shall be done in a fair and unbiased way so as to avoid explicit promotion of a product or commercial entity.
5. Commercial names and logos not related to the HVAC&R industry shall be permitted in presentations and papers providing recognition is pertinent to a better understanding of HVAC&R technology, such inclusion is not intended to be promotional, ASHRAE endorsement is not conveyed, and there is no implication that the audience is required to use the commercial entity.
6. Some ASHRAE activities, such as ASHRAE participation in the AHR Exposition, ASHRAE Journal and the Society web site, are recognized as operating as commercial enterprises, fulfilling the Society’s mission of technological advancement with adherence to business plans that generate income to offset operational expenses.
7. Chapter and regional activities shall not compete with the Society’s activities in the areas of advertising and sponsorships since chapter and regional activities detrimental to the Society are detrimental to the Society’s membership.
8. Chapters and regions participating in local or regional trade shows (including “product shows” and/or “equipment expositions”) shall adhere to guidelines included in the Manual of Chapter Operation (MCO). The rules in the MCO allow the Society to fulfill its obligations in the contractual agreement for sponsorship of the AHR Exposition. It is essential that all ASHRAE events comply with these procedures.
9. ASHRAE activities including events at chapter meetings shall be managed in such a fashion as to prevent an atmosphere where commercial entities are encouraged to critique one another in the public forum. ASHRAE councils, committees, regional officers and chapter board members shall explain and promote these values.

1.201.009.4 Examples of Policy Intent: Acceptable Applications

1. Society Winter and Annual Meeting events may be sponsored, such as welcome party, luncheons, registration kits and receptions.
2. Commercial names and logos may be used to acknowledge sponsorships, such as on event banners, chapter tabletop displays, newsletters, rosters and websites.
3. ASHRAE technical literature and educational materials may be sponsored.
4. Commercial names and logos may be used in presentations and papers to provide author identification or to acknowledge contributions.
5. Company names and products may be cited in historical works.
6. Company names and products may be cited in presentations and papers if such information has historical significance directly relating to the technology discussed in a presentation or paper.
7. Manufacturer and model number of test instruments may be noted if such identification is required to allow accurate reproduction of the work described.
8. Commercial names not directly related to the HVAC&R industry may be displayed or cited in presentations and papers if inclusion of such reference is pertinent to a better understanding of the subject matter discussed or if such reference is unavoidable.
9. Presentations may include logos and the names of computer hardware, operating systems, browsers, word processing programs, spreadsheets, presentation programs, etc., since the intent of the presentation is to examine HVAC&R technology, not to promote information management technology.
10. Demonstrations of software used in the HVAC&R industry may include reference to commercial products and may include performance data if the inclusion of such references and data are necessary to illustrate use of the software.
11. Chapters may allow advertising and sponsorships on their web sites providing that the advertisers and sponsors deal primarily in the chapter’s local geographic area, such as a local sales office of a manufacturer, local manufacturer, or local distributor.
12. Advertising on chapter web sites must be in a separate section of the web site and must comply with all requirements of the ASHRAE Policy for Chapter Websites.
13. Chapters and regions may have web links to non-ASHRAE web sites if the purpose is informational and if it is made clear to viewers that they are leaving the chapter website.
14. Web-based presentations may include excursions to commercial sites if the purpose is clearly not to promote a commercial entity.
15. Chapters may include advertising in chapter newsletters and publications if it is restricted to business card type advertising as described the Manual of Chapter Operation.
16. ASHRAE technical literature and educational materials may be sponsored if the content of the material remains bias free, if equal opportunities are provided to commercial interests, and if such recognition is made public.
17. Companies that wish to support ASHRAE’s physical plant through charitable gifts (cash or in-kind) may be recognized through naming opportunities within and outside of ASHRAE’s building. Any contributed building equipment/systems (in-kind support) may be displayed with the donor’s name highlighted on or around the display. The design of the funded building or portion thereof, and any related display of cutting-edge technology, shall be accomplished in a manner that does not suggest endorsement of the funder or its products or technology by ASHRAE. ASHRAE shall have full control and ownership over all content and materials of the displays and donated equipment/systems.
    
    Any such funding shall be based upon awritten agreement between the funder and ASHRAEwhich may include one or more of the following: (a) type and extent of funding provided by the funder, (b) specifics of the modification(s) to be made to the building or portion thereof, (c) value of the funding to be provided by the funder and a payment schedule, (d) nature and value of the benefits to be provided by ASHRAE, (e) term and termination conditions, and (f) provisions addressing liability, insurance, dispute resolution and similar matters.
    
    The section above was last updated October 15, 2019

1.201.009.5 Examples of Policy Intent: Unacceptable Applications

1. The title or the text of papers and presentations may not promote a commercial product or service.
2. The use of commercial names may not be done in ways that promote the benefits of that commercial entity nor be used to principally further awareness of that commercial entity.
3. The subject of presentations and papers may not be to promote a commercial entity’s exclusively available commercial product and service.
4. Commercial part numbers may not be used in a presentation’s or paper’s title, text or illustrations unless such information is necessary for advancing technical knowledge.
5. Product-specific programs (programs whose main intent is to describe the features of a specific manufacturer’s product) may not be scheduled or presented at a Society event because their very nature would be to further awareness of a specific commercial entity or to describe the advantages of the commercial entity.
6. Chapter and regional web sites may not state by name products, services and companies, except in advertising, in sponsorships or to identify the business affiliations of persons named on the site.
7. Events including chapter meetings where speakers or members in attendance are encouraged to voice commercial-based bias; be it for or against a particular commercial entity.

Questions on the Commercialism Policy may be directed to Mark Owen, mowen@ashrae.org .