To help reduce the energy footprint of small and medium industrial enterprises in China, NRDC is working with companies in Suzhou to establish company-wide strategic energy management (SEM) systems (also known as continuous energy management systems). Building on the energy audits, energy management system assessments, and SEM training that we provided last fall, the six participating enterprises (four electronics and two chemical fiber manufacturers) have begun developing their internal SEM protocols and guidance documents. 

The project implementation team conducted one-on-one coaching for each company in March to help the enterprises fine-tune and finalize their SEM policies and procedures. In addition, NRDC offered a training session for the companies' internal SEM auditors in April, to build their in-house capacity to conduct periodic energy audit and capture energy savings opportunities. Separately, the six participating enterprises have been progressively implementing the recommended energy efficiency measures from their respective energy audits. 

As a next step, NRDC is working with China National Institute of Standardization to capture the enterprises' successful experiences and lessons learned to develop industry-specific strategic energy management implementation guidelines for the electronics and chemical fiber manufacturing industries.