Industrialization and modernization are spreading everywhere, albeit at differing paces and with differing consequences. And as they spread, alongside increased GDP and reduced poverty, there is increasing fossil fuel use, natural resource depletion, and loss of biodiversity.

The need for sustainable energy use has become more evident. Not surprisingly, the challenge of improving energy efficiency is being taken up by the Malaysian industrial sector.

In 1999, the government of Malaysia initiated a project: Malaysian Industrial Energy Efficiency Improvement Project (MIEEIP) to improve the use of energy in the industrial sector, with support and funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the private sector.

The project’s primary objective is to develop and implement activities that will build stakeholders’ capacity and facilitate improved industrial energy efficiency. It focuses on eight energy consuming industrial sub-sectors - wood, food, pulp and paper, rubber, iron and steel, ceramic, glass and cement.

The project has highlighted a number of important issues and some significant lessons have been learnt. It is hoped that as the project moves towards completion, these experiences and the outcomes in the form of industry involvement and the demonstration models will provide exemplars for further steps in energy efficiency throughout Malaysia. The information presented in this publication provides an indication of the efforts being made at selected factories and the related policy implications.

This is the second of a new series of periodic publications that will report on UNDP Malaysia’s work in its energy and environment practice area. The large range of projects being undertaken in this area are designed to support Malaysia’s effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 7 (MDG7), of ensuring environmental sustainability.