Taking Japan’s energy-saving experience and technologies to developing countries

“Measures by Companies and Governments Related to Energy-saving,” a region-specific seminar commissioned by JICA Kansai, was implemented for three weeks from Oct. 10 to Nov. 1. Energy conservation has come into focus as a countermeasure to global energy problems and climate change. Japan has had an accumulation of experiences related to a various energy-saving activities in the processes of corporate activities, in line with the development of technologies and products with outstanding energy-saving performance. In this seminar, we are aiming to create an appreciation for bottom-up measures, such as energy-conservation activities in all types of companies, with high feasibility even for developing countries as well as legal systems and structures for the energy-conservation promotion in Japan.

Learning about saving energy in Japan at companies that received the Energy Conservation Grand Prize

Eight people from government offices and local authorities related to energy in six countries participated in this seminar. The participants came from Algeria, Brazil, Chile, Serbia, Macedonia and Saudi Arabian: countries with differing situations regarding the environment and economic development as well as energy-conservation needs. Yet they came to Japan in the expectation of perhaps learning something from Japan’s experiences.

In the first half of the seminar program, at government institutions mainly in Tokyo they were given explanations on legal and promotional systems, in addition to visits at Suntory and Tokyo Panasonic Center where they were also given explanations so that they could understand how the Japanese are implementing energy-conservation and environmental measures in relation to business management.

They returned to the Kansai region on the second week. There, they mainly visited companies and organizations engaged in energy conservation as well as energy-saving technologies and products. In particular, they were able to gain an appreciation of the importance of measures and individual technologies that contribute to energy conservation by their visits to companies that received the Energy Conservation Grand Prize* and going on field trips to some of their sites. *The Energy Conservation Grand Prize: Given in recognition of outstanding examples of energy-conservation activities or advanced energy-saving products and other items based on technological development. The objective is to make a contribution to instilling energy-saving awareness and to promote the spread of energy-saving products. The prize is sponsored by the Energy Conservation Center, Japan.

In the seminar’s final stage, an exchange of opinions was held with 12 member companies of “Team E-Kansai” (a forum to promote exchanges with the Kansai region, the Asian environment and businesses in the field of energy conservation). After the seminar participants reported on the energy-conservation situations in their respective countries and their expectations toward companies in Kansai, etc., four such companies gave presentations. For these companies, which are located in Kansai, an environmentally advanced region that produces outstanding technologies and products related to the environment and to energy, the event was a good opportunity to understand the energy-conservation issues in the seminar participants’ countries and expectations toward Japanese companies.

(Setoguchi Emiko, PREX)