2006 Winning Environmental Proposals Selected

On February 5, 2007, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment selected a first-prize and four runner-up proposals out of 42 applications to its 2006 annual environmental policy competition. The purpose of this competition is to develop the policy-making abilities of non-governmental organizations, non-profit organizations and private enterprises, as well as to incorporate their proposals into public policies.

The proposal selected for the first prize was "Promoting household energy conservation by utilizing a home energy service company (ESCO) scheme operated by multiple cooperating entities" proposed by the Biwako Bank, Shiga Prefecture Electrical Business Union and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies. It presents a plan for putting together an ESCO business system targeting households that includes a combination of services: energy conserving ESCO services, loans for replacing existing equipment with more energy-efficient models recommended by the ESCO service, and interest subsidy services for the loans. Administrative agencies, banking institutions and local consumer-electronic retailers would operate the scheme together to promote household energy conservation.

ESCO business schemes aim to realize energy saving together with cost reduction through the mechanism of investment costs for energy saving equipment, etc. being covered by reduced energy costs. It has already been widely introduced, especially in the industrial sector.

One of the four runner-up proposals selected was "Developing regional sustainability indicators and establishing an ombudsman system to utilize the indicators to achieve regional sustainability," proposed by a nonprofit organization, the Japan Association of Environment and Society for the 21st Century.


- Environment Ministry Selects Winning Environmental Proposals for FY2005 (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1293-e

Posted: 2007/05/26 11:14:47 PM
Japanese version