FOR more than four years now, the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) has been advocating for small and large enterprises across all industries to adopt energy-efficient technologies to remain competitive amid the high cost of power in the country and the threat of energy shortages in the very near future.

We have organized the Philippine Energy Efficiency Forum annually for the past four years to raise greater awareness among top management and technical managers.

Also, about that time, the ECCP launched the Energy Smart Program, a private sector-led initiative that aims to encourage like-minded organizations to identify, implement and share best-practice energy-management programs that encourage energy efficiency and sustainability. It is supported by leading companies in the energy sector, international organizations and other key players in the field of energy management.

The Energy Smart Program aims to achieve the following:

•   Raise the interest in and awareness of energy efficiency as a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

•   Step up the implementation of energy-savings projects and programs at the enterprise level.

•   Develop a supportive network of energy-efficiency organizations and suppliers.

•   Recognize the effort and achievements of the program’s partners to promote greater action.

•   Recognize and reward the efforts of companies that continue to implement energy-efficiency programs and their achievements.

In advancing the energy-efficiency initiative of the Energy Smart Program, the ECCP needs more partners to drive and carry energy-efficiency programs.

For this reason, the ECCP has launched several partnerships to engage new allies in the drive to convince more companies to be energy-efficient.

We have partnered with government agencies, such as the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), and business organizations, such as the Call Center Association of the Philippines, as well as bilateral and multilateral organizations, to target specific sectors.

As a result of the various campaigns from both the public and private sectors, there is now greater awareness among top and middle technical managers of companies about the need to be more energy-efficient at the enterprise level to reduce operational costs and their companies’ carbon footprint.

This greater awareness, however, still remains to be converted into action, including concrete projects that result in energy savings. Most companies are still reluctant to invest in energy efficiency for a variety of reasons, but mainly because of the perceived lack of internal funds to bankroll such projects. 

Viable options

The good news for companies planning energy-efficiency projects is that there are many viable options for financing, as well as for project implementation.

Several local banks currently provide loans for energy-efficiency projects without the necessary collateral to cover the risks, relying more on the savings and internal rate of return that the project can generate. Banks and leasing companies can also finance the acquisition of energy-efficient equipment through leasing.

The more interesting option is to outsource the implementation of the energy-efficiency project to an energy-service company (ESCO).

Although the energy-service industry in the Philippines is relatively young and can be considered as still emerging, there are a few good ESCOs with international experience that have been accredited by the Department of Energy to provide specialized services to companies.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) initiated a project called the Southeast Asia Energy Efficiency Initiative early this year in order to support the expansion of the energy-efficiency services model to drive energy-efficiency investments in Southeast Asia.

It is important to note that the ADB, through its private-sector operations department, currently invests more than $2.30 billion per year in clean-energy projects. Most of these are for renewable energy.

The ADB is currently seeking ways to strengthen its support for energy-efficiency initiatives that improve the efficiency of equipment and reduce energy use and costs in buildings and factories. It now plays a major role in supporting investments in clean energy across the region.

Nearly all countries in the region have set national energy-efficiency targets, but activity to meet these targets is still in the early stages.

The ADB estimates that $11 billion of investments in end-use efficiency is needed by 2020 for Southeast Asian countries to meet their national targets for energy efficiency and greenhouse-gas emission reductions. This represents a huge opportunity, and the ADB intends to play a role in identifying and catalyzing best business models and practices in order to stimulate investments.

ESCOs can help reduce the costs of services used in buildings and factories, such as cooling, process heat, compressed air, lighting, and other appliances and equipment. They have been around for nearly 20 years in the Philippines, but the business model has yet to catch on.

The ADB recommends the use of ESCOs by building and factory owners, since they can design, implement and manage energy-efficiency projects.

An important part of the business model is that the ESCOs guarantee the performance and savings from the projects. And in some cases, they can provide the up-front financing.

Typical cost reductions can be 30 percent to 40 percent in cooling costs, with internal rates of return within the 15-percent-to-30-percent range.

Through its Southeast Asia Energy Efficiency Initiative, the ADB has been working to document the potential for energy efficiency in the region and developing persuasive case studies that show the details of projects implemented in both commercial and industrial sectors.

The ADB will be presenting the results of its work, and convening high-level business leaders to promote the benefits of the energy-efficiency services model, in a series of workshops across in the Philippines, along with those in Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia.

Filipino business leaders may be interested to join the workshops, scheduled on October 29 and 30, which will focus on commercial buildings, factories and industrial facilities.

It’s now up to the companies to take the challenge and reap the benefits of saving energy by hiring a reliable ESCO that can guarantee the energy savings that they would like to achieve.

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For further inquiries about the ADB workshops in Manila, interested parties may contact the ECCP through Jasmin Runez ( jrunez@eccp.com) or Suzette Gamido ( suzette.gamido@eccp.com), or call (632) 759-6680 or (632) 845-1324.

Source: Business Mirror (www.businessmirror.com.ph); News; 23 October 2013