The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) recently concluded a review and demonstration program in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to showcase how better energy management and energy audits can help improve productivity and the bottom line in SMEs and public- and private-sector organizations.

The three-day program included an inspection by an APO expert and a one-day conference for dissemination of the results of the demonstration program as well as sharing of experience, implementation, and outcomes by the three selected demonstration organizations: APU Company; TESO LLC; and UBEDN SOJS Company.

The two-day review process conducted by APO expert and General Manager of the International Planning Department Masahide Shinohara of the Energy Conservation Center (Japan), found that all three companies had achieved positive results. The companies also appreciated the advice received by experts in adopting energy conservation improvement plans.

The conference was organized with support from the Mongolian Productivity Organization and attended by 75 participants from 16 companies and organizations who expressed willingness to apply similar energy efficiency techniques in their workplaces. The program for the development of demonstration companies is an initiative by the APO to provide technical assistance to selected companies that can undertake energy conservation measures and serve as success story models for replication by others.

A demonstration company must be willing to showcase its processes and in a strong position to act as a model exhibiting leadership and influence on other organizations in the region with a high level of commitment from management.

Under the program, while potential candidates for demonstration company projects are recommended by national productivity organizations (NPOs), the final selection is made in consultation with the expert and APO Secretariat. The APO assigns experts to the selected organizations to perform diagnostic studies, recommend an action plan for energy conservation, and help implement the plan. Throughout the project period, the process and results are documented for learning by others.

Projects under the program involve a tripartite arrangement between a demonstration company or group of demonstration companies, the NPO, and APO. As part of the project, an international expert(s) designated by the APO conducts an energy audit to analyze possible energy conservation-related issues and problems through a diagnostic survey at the demonstration company. Next, the expert proposes an improvement plan and obtains a consensus on mutually agreeable actions for the scheduled duration of the project. The program is reviewed by the expert, and the NPO and APO communicate at various stages of implementation to monitor progress and recommend ways to resolve any problems or administrative bottlenecks.

The initiative is funded under a Special Cash Grant Program on Energy Conservation by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. As part of the Special Cash Grant Program, the APO has been carrying out research on need assessment since August 2015 and organized a training course on energy conservation in February 2016. Mongolia is one of five target countries for this program along with Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. One of the key objectives is to enable NPOs to develop the ability to manage their own demonstration and model projects on energy conservation.