Review of industrial sector benchmarks ― To clarify the target deadline
On 15th January, The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry(METI) and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy(ANRE) presented a proposal at the working group for the revision of benchmark system towards to deepen the energy conservation efforts in the industrial sector. Since the current system does not clarify the target date for achieving, it will be set in FY2030 for all industries. If many companies achieve their goals before the reset year, the target value and year will be re-examined.
Regarding the review of the benchmark system that ANRE indicated at the “The Working Group on EC guideline for Factories, etc.” (WG, Chair: Takaharu Kawase, Professor Emeritus at Chiba University) of the Energy Conservation Working Group of the “Advisory Committee for Energy and Natural Resources” (an advisory body of METI), ANRE proposed at the previous meetings the improvement of the description of mid-to-long plans to enhance energy conservation measures which the business operators should prepare and submit to METI, In this proposal. ANRE showed the policy to evaluate the process to achieve the benchmark by means of requesting them to describe such processes and the prospects for capital investment.
However, at present, when a business operator prepares a plan, she is required to achieve her goal in the medium to long term, but the target year is not clearly defined. Therefore, this proposal sets the target year to FY2030 for all industries. The committee also expressed its concern that “Business operators may seek for cost-ineffective energy saving, which can be burdensome for their businesses”
If the target value is not set to a sufficiently high level, such as the case that many business operators can achieve the target by the deadline, the target value and fiscal year will be reviewed again. Whether or not the target level is appropriate internationally, this committee will continue to examine while observing the discussions of the International Energy Agency (IEA). This committee also considers the necessity of a review when the results among companies vary due to the factors other than energy saving. At the meeting, ANRE announced a revised plan for the target value of the benchmark system in the rental office business.