EVO in South Korea: IPMVP As A Tool For ECO-Efficiency in Local Government Projects

An international training course on "Eco-efficient and Sustainable Urban Infrastructure" was conducted at the International Urban Training Centre (IUTC) in South Korea, November 14-20, 2010. The course was jointly organized by the IUTC, the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP). Course organizers identified the M&V and IPMVP as an important tool to achieve eco-efficiency in urban infrastructure projects and invited the Efficiency Valuation Organization (EVO) to present on the same. Dr. Manish Shakdwipee, CMVP, an EVO-approved trainer, made a presentation on "Monitoring and Evaluating Energy Efficiency Savings: International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP).”

The concept of eco-efficiency is concerned with maximizing the value of goods and services while reducing the ecological impacts. Eco-efficiency, therefore, holds significant relevance for sustainable urban development, in particular in addressing the challenge of expanding access to goods and services in response to rapid urbanization (which entails expanding infrastructure), while minimizing environmental impacts.

The audience was elected decision-makers and senior professionals at the local government level, officials of Ministries or Local Government (or similar) from Asia and the Pacific Rim. Twenty-three participants from 12 nations attended. The primary program objective was to build the capacity of participants in planning and developing infrastructure in an integrated way, taking into account eco-efficiency and sustainability principles. Additional objectives included:
• Familiarize participants with the key concepts of eco-efficiency and sustainability and how they relate to urban infrastructure;
• Equip participants with tools to assess the eco-efficiency of urban infrastructure development and to feed into decision-making and policy development;
• Present and discuss approaches and cases on urban infrastructure development from the Asia and Pacific region with a view of identifying good practices and lessons learned;
• Guide participants to identify challenges and opportunities in applying eco-efficiency and sustainability approaches to urban infrastructure development in their local context;
• Help indentify best available mechanisms to finance implementation of development opportunities; and
• Enable participants to identify and prioritize strategies and policies to ensure eco-efficient and sustainable outcomes

Each participant was expected to finalize an Eco-efficiency Implementation Plan for their city using basic data and information they collected prior to attending the course. These plans were developed both by individual work with guidance and tools provided by course facilitators and at dedicated working group sessions which corresponded to five development steps:
1. Assess current state of urban development in cities;
2. Identify feasible eco-efficiency objectives and targets on the basis of the existing conditions as well as legislative and regulatory frameworks;
3. Discuss financial mechanisms and partnerships that can cover costs related to the implementation of identified objectives;
4. Define specific policies and implementing measures to achieve identified objectives; and
5. Finalize Implementation Plans.

To help move the basic methods in its flagship product, the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP), into real applications, EVO provides training at various levels for a variety of audiences. We draw on the expertise and experience within EVO around the world to provide M&V training tailored to the needs of different regions where no other suitable training is available. Click here for more on EVO Trainings