Swedish perspectives on energy efficiency

Last week, the Swedish Embassy and Business Sweden hosted a briefing on Swedish perspectives on energy efficiency in the industrial sector at the Manila Peninsula, specifically to highlight the need for the Philippine energy sector to adopt better regulation and lower cost pressures.

- MARIANNE GO

In her welcoming remarks, Sweden’s Ambassador Anna Ferry cited that Sweden has long been recognized as a global leader in sustainability and innovation.

Sweden, she pointed out, “invests an equivalent of 3.5 percent of our gross domestic product (GDP) in research and development, or three times more than the global average (which is at 1.2 percent).”

Seventy percent of the funding, she said, comes from the Swedish private sector. This has enabled Swedish companies to pioneer solutions in energy efficiency, industrial modernization and economic circularity.

Sweden, she said, has reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 30 percent since 1990, while maintaining high economic growth for mature economies standard, “a clear demonstration that growth, competitiveness and sustainability can go hand in hand.”

Sustainability, she stressed, is part and parcel of the business model of companies to pioneer cutting edge solutions.

In the World Competitiveness Ranking 2024 by the International Institute for Management Development in Switzerland, Ambassador Ferry said, Sweden is ranked number six among 67 countries. “So we must be doing something right.”

She, thus, noted that “We all want to be more competitive. Be it a country as a whole or individual companies. We all struggle to implement the critical factors that make a difference.”

However, Ambassador Ferry stressed that “For the Philippines, where electricity prices remain among the highest in Asia, energy efficiency is not just an environmental imperative — it is a business imperative and a societal imperative.”

She expressed the need “to promote economic growth, job creation and ensure self-sufficiency of necessities.”

Energy efficiency, she said, is often called the “first fuel” because it is the most cost-effective way to reduce emissions and improve resilience.