Siemens eyeing $2.7 B in cost savings from 'clean' technology use

Siemens Economist Intelligence Unit site Asian Green City Index helps project potential cost savings from clean technology deployments, various projects

Myrna M. Velasco, Manila Bulletin Newspaper

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Siemens AG has projected potential cost savings of $2.7 billion from various projects or clean technology deployments that would elevate the rankings of various Asian cities notches higher into the global green race.

In a press conference here unveiling the study outcome of the Asian Green City Index undertaken by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Siemens Chief Sustainability Officer Barbara Kux emphasized that bulk of the estimated savings will be generated from energy consumption and energy efficiency initiatives.

The green city benchmarking for Asia has considered eight indices measured on relatively equal weightings; they are:

• Air Quality
• Energy and Carbon Dioxide Emissions
• Environmental Governance
• Land Use and Buildings
• Sanitation
• Transport
• Waste
• Water

Ms. Kux stressed that the moves of cities to shift to greener technologies and practices would also be one way to fight ‘inflationary pressures’ especially at this time when energy prices are on incessant climbs. “Sustainability also means being lean,” she enthused, adding that shift to ‘green technologies’ does not necessarily mean expensive.

Singapore has received recognition as the greenest city in Asia – mainly citing the lion state’s NEWater experiment as among the best practices wherein it turns wastewater into a clean resource feasible for human consumption and industry use through micro-filtration, reverse osmosis and ultra-violet technology deployment.

The other best practices cited in the Asian Green City Index study are: the rail transport system of Shanghai, in which the city has been building 140 kilometers of new metro track to be opened next year; Guangzhou’s land use and buildings, which promotes the concept of zero-emission building at its Pearl River Tower project; Delhi’s environmental governance through the deployment of school eco-clubs, among others.

Among the 22 Asian cities surveyed, Manila scored “below average” in most of the indices. It just went up one notch higher to “average” on energy and CO2 initiatives; and scored “above average” in air quality.

Mr. Jan Friederich, who is EIU’s head of research for the Asian Green City Index, qualified further though that solutions for each city is generally ‘case specific’ or ‘tailor-made’ depending on socio-economic conditions and other factors defining the existence of a particular jurisdiction.

- Edited by Gust Gianos, CFE Media, Consulting-Specifying Engineer, www.csemag.com