ISLAMABAD, Jan 9: A national organization has joined hands with a German company to start a renewable and environment-friendly energy programme to enhancing industrial productivity, said a statement here Monday.

A working group meeting of the National Productivity Organization (NPO) and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) was held recently in Islamabad to discuss “incentives for energy efficiency for the industry”.

Under the Pakistan-German Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (REEE) programme, the NPO and GTZ will work to enhancing industrial productivity through the use of energy efficiency and cleaner production initiatives in selected industries.

It was further discussed that the programme should benchmark the future energy needs and existing success stories for replication.

The working group discussed the role of energy use and energy efficiency in the industry. It also laid stress on critical steps required to build capacity and ways to link the universities and engineering students with NPO initiatives and to promote greater awareness about and sustainability of national energy efficient initiatives.

Keeping in view the emerging issue of competitiveness in the industry, the Benchmark Services of Pakistan (BSP) is coordinating and managing the assignment to ascertain the existing standards and best practices in the industry.

The NPO chief, Mr Saquib Mohiyuddin, speaking during the meeting stressed the need for ensuring participation of the government, trade bodies and university representatives for the national ownership of energy efficient initiatives in the industry.

He also highlighted the critical role of energy efficiency in the export sectors such as textiles and leather. He saw a brighter future for these sectors in the years to come “if sustainable energy efficient initiatives are put in place in a timely manner”.

Mr Ulrich Stohr Gvabowski, principal adviser for the GTZ-Pakistan appreciated the efforts made by NPO for enhancing industrial productivity and competitiveness.

The working group meeting was attended by Imtiaz Rastgar, Chief Executive Officer, Engineering Development Board; Mohsin M Syed, Chairman, Pakistan Industrial Estates; Nasim A Khan, secretary, Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB; Mujahid Sadiq, AEDB; Qamarud Din, AEDB; Avais M Hussain, Sohail Lashari and Mr Faisal Iqbal Sheikh of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Syed Taffakur Hussain Shah, Director Research and Development, the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Izharul Ahsan, Martin Kruska, Head Climate Change Services, EUTECH, Germany.