Green China: TUV SUD provides holistic approach to efficiency

The Chinese government is "much more ambitious than other countries" in its "green" goals, said Wolfgang Huebl, senior vice-president of testing and certification company TUV SUD Greater China.

Huebl's remarks came during a recent two-day forum in Beijing organized by the company that focused on energy efficiency in industry and buildings.

Technical experts from the government, research institutions, and companies including TUV SUD had in-depth discussions on how to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions in industry and construction.

One of China's challenges is to "keep its economy growing and do it as efficiently as possible at the same time", Huebl said.

"Germany started the initiative of green building much earlier, but in China, most of the construction took place recently."

"China has done a very good job, doing everything at one time," he said.

China's national three-star labeling system for the green building requires an audit a year after the completion of the building to look in detail if the original plan has actually been carried out, which is "a very good approach", Huebl said.

In comparison, most of the international measurement systems only focus on the design stage, so plans "do not always fit reality".

But he also noted that in some places in China, local authorities "sometimes focus too much on profit".

"They build one energy-efficient building and say the area is 'green'," he said.

TUV SUD gives "neutral analyses and sophisticated audits to really show what the current situation is", said the vice-president.

"The government has initiated regulations, and we are well equipped to counsel our customers the best way to adhere to these policies," he added.

"We can also support our customers in how to make sure they achieve it. We can help industries find the right solutions."

The concept of being "green" came about in recent years, but long before that TUV SUD was "focusing on how to make sure our customers' resources were efficiently used and their products had advantages in the market".

Founded nearly 150 years ago, TUV SUD supports companies worldwide with a holistic service portfolio to achieve their sustainability objectives. The word TUV is short for Technischer Ueberwachungs-Verein, meaning technical inspection association in English.

Headquartered in Munich, the company has more than 800 offices and a workforce of 17,200 employees across the world. Its sales revenues were 1.7 billion euros ($2.2 billion) last year.

The company offers "one-stop" solutions to customers worldwide in many industries including manufacturing, chemicals, transportation, power and energy, real estate, communications and retailing.

Huebl said China is the company's largest and most important market outside Germany, and is still growing fast. TUV SUD has more than 40 offices across the nation with over 2,000 employees, and has provided services to more than 20,000 clients over the past 20 years.

Although some of its competitors have a longer history in China, Huebl said TUV SUD "knows China quite well".

An example in China is bathroom fixture maker Duravit's China company. Instead of offering just one service, TUV SUD provided energy audits, an energy management system and training to make sure the system works well.

"With a combination of services, energy efficiency is a very holistic approach," Huebl said. "Certification is important. However, ensuring that you have an overall concept that is really workable during implementation is even more important."

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn