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Annual
Report 2007
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Fiscal Year 2006
Research Committee on the Promotion of Global Warming Measures among Small and Medium Enterprises
Research Committee Report
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"Research Committee on the Promotion of Global Warming Measures among Small and Medium Enterprises" held four meetings under the Chairmanship of Dr. Kudo (Leader of Global Environment and Sustainable Development Unit at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan). The Committee reviewed, from broader perspectives, how to promote energy saving and global warming measures among small and medium enterprises, as they have higher potentials of GHG emissions reduction than bigger companies, yet falling far behind in the actual adoption of such measures. The result of the Committee’s work is given below.
Considering the vast number of small and medium enterprises in the society and their lack of working capitals, any policies and measures designed to address such enterprises should incorporate their unique features. Through the works of the Research Committee, we reviewed possible global warming measures for small and medium enterprises on the basis of following thoughts:
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| 1) | Small and medium enterprises should not be considered collectively, but categorically by classifying them into smaller groups based on their unique features |
| 2) |
Stakeholders need to provide incentives for such enterprises in order to promote their adoption of voluntary measures |
| 3) |
It is necessary to focus on further improvement in existing measures, and to encourage greater coordination among them |
The Committee’s questionnaire elicited the fact that small and medium enterprises are prone to be less aware of the needs of energy saving and global warming measures, compared with bigger companies.
The Committee first classified small and medium enterprises into 6 categories based on the degree of willingness to adopt energy saving and global warming measures as described below, and analyzed their unique features: |
| (i) |
Willing to adopt measures but have not done so due to obstacles |
| (ii) |
Willing to adopt measures but have not done so because they do not know how |
| (iii) |
Willing to adopt measures but have not done so because the anticipated effects are not significant |
| (iv) |
Not willing to adopt measures since the effects are not apparent |
| (v) |
Not willing to adopt measures as they have no way of doing it or cannot expect returns |
| (vi) |
Not willing to adopt measures because the anticipated effect is extremely insignificant |
| In addition, we analyzed the existing policies and measures for each category in terms of their relationships with stakeholders, and identified the issues involved. Moreover, the Committee proposed, despite the limited amount of data and information available, five ideas stated below as potential directions for the future, and reviewed how these ideas relate to each of aforementioned categories: |
| (1) |
Improve cost effectiveness of subsidies |
| (2) |
Reinforce the provision of credits to small and medium enterprises |
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Implement greenhouse gas emissions trading and the government’s acquisition of emissions reduction units |
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Encourage joint works and cooperation among stakeholders |
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Implement simplified energy saving analysis |
Figure Categories of small and medium enterprises and matrix with ideas for future directions
The biggest obstacle we faced in our review of energy saving at small and medium enterprises was the lack of sufficient data, such as energy statistics. Essentially, the development of such policies and measures would require the aggregation and analysis of substantial data in various aspects. With the First Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol just about to start, however, we did not have enough time to do so. Instead, the Research Committee tried to develop “hypothesis” from available data and information, which would provide effective measures for small and medium companies. The Committee also adopted PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle in cooperation with stakeholders, and verified and rewrote “hypothesis” on a regular basis. In this way, we would be able to effectively pursue better measures while enjoying the fruits called "emissions reduction."
Because of the vast number of small and medium enterprises and their extensive diversification and complexity, it is extremely difficult to fully appreciate their unique features. However, it is no longer a time to reflect upon the situation, although reflection has its own importance. It is certainly a time to take immediate actions.
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