The National Business Initiative (NBI) would, on December 4, launch its Private Sector Energy Efficiency (PSEE) project, aimed at improving the energy effi- ciency of commercial and industrial companies of various sizes in South Africa, NBI head of energy Valerie Geen reported earlier this month.

The NBI has been awarded £8.7-million by the UK Depart- ment for International Develop-ment to fund the project, which will be carried out in partnership with the Department of Energy and the Carbon Trust, which will provide the NBI with implementation support.

“In the current context of energy security challenges and the impact of energy price increases on company operational costs, South African companies need to manage their energy demand and meet country and value chain obligations to reduce their carbon emissions,” Geen said at the eighth yearly Southern African Energy Efficiency Convention, held in Johannesburg.

She added that the implementation of energy efficiency measures could also improve business productivity, competitiveness and innovation, as well as access to energy efficiency financial subsidies and tax incentives.

The PSEE project is divided into three categories, with different support being provided for large, medium and small companies.

Large companies, which are classified as those with a yearly energy spend of more than R45-million, will be eligible for between 40 and 60 days of consulting support for a range of services, including energy audits, capacity building and the identification of energy-saving initiatives.

To join the programme, large companies will have to commit to the cofunding of 40% of the third-party support provided by the PSEE project, which is estimated at about R280 000 a company.

Further, companies will also have to appoint a project champion that will commit time once a week to attend working and steering group meetings, and facilitate internal meetings. Ad hoc time will also be required from key stakeholders across departments, such as finance, procurement, operations, sales and marketing.

Companies should also be willing to open up their core business and industrial processes to exam- ination, provide their energy consumption data and commit to implementing priority recommendations arising from the studies.