Thirty-eight energy management, energy efficiency, and energy auditing professionals from 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region arrived in Tokyo on 15 February to attend the two-week APO Training Course on Energy Conservation funded by the Government of Japan. In an era of rapid industrialization and productivity growth, APO economies must make smarter, more efficient use of limited energy resources. The course design and objectives were based on the APO’s Green Productivity concept, with the focus on training national specialists in energy conservation methods and tools to facilitate the transition from carbon-intensive to environment-friendly, sustainable living patterns.

In the first week of the course, participants were introduced to strategies for energy conservation and management reflecting Japanese best practices by a team of experts from The Energy Conservation Center, Japan. The current status of and issues in capacity development for energy efficiency and conservation in their countries were also shared by participants. During that lively classroom session, different national policies and initiatives were compared and contrasted.

Janaka Rathnakumara of Wijeya Newspapers Ltd., Sri Lanka, explained that the training course would provide insights and guidance to develop training modules for Sri Lankan energy industry specialists and therefore be valuable for the country’s overall energy plan. He noted new knowledge gained on the management of steam systems and building facilities in particular.

Batbileg Tsagaan of the Mongolian Productivity Organization commented that the course went hand in hand with other initiatives under APO frameworks such as Technical Expert Services and Development of Demonstration Companies and would contribute to her country’s continuing efforts to educate industries and the public in efficient energy management practices.

In the latter half of the course, the group will visit the factories of TLV Co., Ltd. and Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems Co., Ltd. in Chiba prefecture and Denso Daian Factory and Sharp Kameyama Factory in Mie prefecture to examine their energy efficiency improvement and conservation measures in operation.