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Commerce on 25 July. Also present during the session was Nawaz Rajabdeen, Country Head of UNIDO Sri Lanka.
When asked how to incentivise the electricity consumer towards energy efficiency, Representative Petra Schwager said: “If you are good in producing and using energy and are still not energy and resource efficient, it may be difficult to reduce energy expenses. In that, cut down your waste, then you can reduce the demand of energy at household and office levels. Also, I believe that there are two steps that you can follow –you can start using an ‘Energy Pass’ which is successfully used in EU countries.
“It will not only make the consumer to rationalise their electricity usage levels but also can become a good property valuator. For example, when someone in Germany wants to sell their house, the prospective buyer will almost always ask for that house’s Energy Pass. The Energy Pass, a card, will show how energy efficient that housing unit is and this will go a long way in determination of the sale value of the house since the buyer gets a good idea of energy costs they would incur in this house as a result of data in the Energy Pass.”
She added: “The Energy Pass is designed based on a certain guideline set by the government. So once people start using this pass, they will make an effort to reduce energy consumption that in turn can impact the overall household energy usage. Starting energy efficiency education in schools is an effective way and then the country will follow once the students enter their work lives, they can practice their energy efficiency methods at work and home.”
When asked about UNIDO’s role in Sri Lanka’s clean power, Representative Petra Schwager said: “We have been supporting the NCPC for more than 10 years. In its new phase, we, at Vienna’s Environmental Management Branch, will be working with the NCPC in more specific projects – such as energy, chemicals and clean industry. With a new director general being appointed to UNIDO, new avenues such as trade capacity building may take place.
“I was very surprised when I visited your industries. Some of your manufacturers have very high manufacturing standards, though some still need support. Your apparel sector especially is world class in energy and efficient use of resources, with some firms having a clean factory program. However, some Sri Lankan manufacturers still need work to do material efficiency as I have seen waste taking place.”
She went on to say: “One steel component manufacturer has a waste rate of 50%, that, I personally witnessed. University integration to industries in Sri Lanka needs improvement. Furthermore, banks in Sri Lanka are reluctant to invest in energy efficiency and waste reduction processes and projects and this mind-set too needs to be changed.
“Putting these different forces together will help Sri Lanka’s industries. In adiition, local industries can start paying for the services provided by our UNIDO centre in Colombo. We have 50 centres across the world like Colombo – and 50% of them are self-sustainable, especially BRICS operations, since we provide high quality services. We see that textiles, chemical, rubber, tourism and renewable energy are sectors we see that need support such as ISO 50001, HAACP standards etc.”
