UNIDO and NCPC launch second year of successful training for better energy management across industries

Industry professionals across Sri Lanka are expressing great interest in improving how they manage energy usage. The 45 trainees in last year’s inaugural cohort of the ‘Accelerating Industries’ Climate Response in Sri Lanka’ programme have already helped their businesses save an estimated one million US dollars. And this success is attracting attention from all major industries in the country.

The cross-industry training programme, funded by the European Union, received more than 420 applications for its second cohort in 2024 (an increase of 200 per cent over 2023). Trainers from around the world will again work with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Sri Lanka’s National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC) to build the skills of selected engineers, energy managers, industry professionals and lecturers from some of Sri Lanka’s premier engineering faculties.

The new cohort of 70 trainees will follow an internationally recognized programme on Energy Management Systems (EnMS) that presents best practices and incorporates practical application in their industries. Over the course of 12 months, participants will acquire an in-depth understanding of energy management across various industrial processes, learn to use new tools and strategies, and develop customized energy management initiatives for their individual workplaces. The UNIDO team will provide continuous technical support and work with trainees to track progress and gather data resulting from the implementation of energy saving measures throughout the learning period.

Coupling this deep experience with a wide cross-section of large and medium industries sets the stage for an ideal collaborative learning opportunity: a strong suit of the training programme.

A few of the programme’s 2024 participants include government representatives from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB). Their focus on energy-intensive processes, such as the provision of safe drinking water and treatment of wastewater across the Island, have thus far come with large energy costs. But the EnMS training can help these agencies realize significant savings.
For Sudesh Silva, a Senior Engineer at Teejay Lanka Prints – a subsidiary of one of the largest textile groups in Sri Lanka – the 2023 programme was his first exposure to formal EnMS training. He believes it will go a long way toward his company’s efforts to scale up renewables and implement an improved energy management system. For others, such as Chandima Nayani Mallawasekara, Deputy Director of Engineering at the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI), the training will help drive better cleaner and more cost-effective manufacturing practices across the organization’s plethora of partner industries.

Currently only in its second year, UNIDO’s EnMS training programme is already catalyzing change and fueling the energy transition in Sri Lanka’s industrial sector. Leading industries – textile and apparel, manufacturing, plantations, and others – are demonstrating their commitment to more cost-efficient and cleaner industrial practices that result in significant long-term greenhouse gas emissions reductions.