President and CEO of Siemens AG Peter Löscher affirmed all cities canbenefit from the results of the Green City Index, and the index helpscities to learn from one another.
Mr Peter Löschergave VietnamPlus an exclusive interview after the recent release of theAsian Green City Index in which he provided some suggestions for citieslike Hanoi to improve their environmental issues.
- What is the background that led to the initiative of the Green City Index?
Urban areas are responsible for 75 percent of global energyconsumption and 80 percent of CO2 emissions. So the battle againstclimate change has to be decided in cities. We want to enable theworld’s metropolis such as Hanoi to combine healthy growth with ahigh quality of life. That is why we have initiated the Green CityIndex. The study provides information on effective technologies andenvironmental solutions to help cities with this effort. It alsoprovides in-depth city profiles that describe the challenges, strengthsand weaknesses of each city and highlight emerging best practice andinnovative ideas that others might wish to follow.
- Asian Green City Index was released a little bit late, asthe region has been long coping with environmental problems whilerecording high growth. Could you please give an idea why the Asian indexcame after those in Europe and Latin America ? Any difficulties incarrying out this project in the region?
Asiawas the third region where we did this study – after Europe and LatinAmerica , and by far not the last one. There are many more to follow,for example North America and Africa . But it doesn’t matter whetheryou do the study at the beginning or at the end of the Green City Indexseries. What counts is that you do it. Because it delivers successfulstrategies for sustainable urban development and forms an objectivebasis for a fruitful exchange of ideas between city planners in theregions. Cities have to be places worth living in it over the longterm. And as you said, this applies to Asia , with its boomingconurbations, more than anywhere else on earth. In the last five yearsalone, the number of inhabitants in Asian cities has been increasing byabout 100,000 a day! This is having an enormous impact on theinfrastructure: with the additional number of inhabitants,correspondingly more energy, clean water, transportation andenergy-efficient homes are required. And for Siemens as the greeninfrastructure pioneer this means a huge potential!
- An EIU expert said at the recent press conference to announce theAsian Green City Index that the index does not aim to rank cities in anorder of being green but it could help cities to know where they are tomake improvements. Do you think city authorize will take this intoaccount, and if yes, will they be given a hand by green technologypioneers like Siemens?
From our experience we cansay, that both the European and Latin American Green City Index havealready helped cities to learn from one another. They are developing abetter understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses regardingissues of urban sustainability. And we are fully committed to supportthem with information on efficient climate protection, and to partnerwith them in developing comprehensive, sustainable infrastructuresolutions. Siemens has a broad experience from projects in cities allover the world and the largest range of clean technologies – fromefficient and clean energy generation, transmission and use to publictransport, water treatment systems or building technologies. In fiscal2010 alone, Siemens generated revenue of around €28 billion with itsenvironmental portfolio. Projects in Vietnam are also contributingto this.
It is clear that Hanoi has a lot todo to be really green, not only because it wants to climb up this indexladder. Hanoi ’s environmental governance is well below average in theAsian Green City Index - togsether with “Land use and buildings”and “Sanitation.” Transport and water are big concerns too. What areyour recommendations for the city in the immediate future?
Every single measure that contributes to sustainable urban developmentis of high importance. The Asian Green City Index could be a goodbasis for further steps. It delivers – for the very first time – thefull picture of Hanoi in terms of environmental performance. Basedon the outcome of the study that 45 percent of the city's water supplyis lost through system leak, one immediate approach could be to upgradethe existing water systems and raise the population’s awareness ofsaving water. In addition, public mass transport systems such as metro,bus rapid transit or trams would be beneficial both for the people andfor the environment. And Vietnam does not need to start from zero.The country already has good green initiatives such as the energyconservation program and the Vietnam National Energy Efficiency program.Promoting them extensively and taking concrete actions is the key to agreen and livable Hanoi !
- It is saidthat the index will likely be announced every two-three years or so. Itis understandable when listed cities manage to improve itself, but whatabout other cities that are not included. Do you think this index willgive any impact on them?
Definitely! All citiescan benefit from the results. As already said: This Green City Indexprovides in-depth city profiles that not only describe the challenges,strengths and weaknesses of each city, but also highlight best practicesand innovative ideas that others might wish to follow. Just oneexample: Usually people do not think about buildings, but theastonishing fact is that buildings are responsible for 40% of globalenergy consumption. Siemens has proved that by applying intelligentbuilding technologies, 30% energy consumption can be saved. A proof forthis is our Siemens Center in Beijing , China . The same couldbe achieved with buildings in Vietnam .
- Therewas a suggestion at the panel discussion in Singapore after thepress conference that rich cities should help poorer cities inenvironmental issues. Do you think this can be done and how difficult itcan be?
When researching the Asian Green CityIndex, we already found some interesting examples where richer citiesprovide financial support and expertise to poorer cities. Take Japanfor instance: The Yokohama Waterworks Bureau, recognizing that it hadbenefited extensively from a British engineer’s technical assistance acentury earlier, began inviting experts from developing-world cities toattend training programs.
Siemens is also active in thisfield: In 2009 we founded a board with experts from our relevantdivisions and cross-sector functions such as corporate technology thatjointly evaluates the cities’ infrastructure requirements and developstailor-made solutions for municipal customers. Also, in recent months,we have built up a powerful team of 50 account managers that offercities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh our Siemens portfolio from a singlesource. Last but not least, Siemens also has financing solutions forcities that want to invest in energy-saving technologies when they havebudget restrictions: We call this Energy Performance Contracting. Themodel is simple: We provide our clients energy saving technology andthey can finance that by the money saved from reduced energyconsumption. So there is no additional investment for our clients.You can imagine, this model is already very successful – around theworld./.
Mr Peter Löschergave VietnamPlus an exclusive interview after the recent release of theAsian Green City Index in which he provided some suggestions for citieslike Hanoi to improve their environmental issues.
- What is the background that led to the initiative of the Green City Index?
Urban areas are responsible for 75 percent of global energyconsumption and 80 percent of CO2 emissions. So the battle againstclimate change has to be decided in cities. We want to enable theworld’s metropolis such as Hanoi to combine healthy growth with ahigh quality of life. That is why we have initiated the Green CityIndex. The study provides information on effective technologies andenvironmental solutions to help cities with this effort. It alsoprovides in-depth city profiles that describe the challenges, strengthsand weaknesses of each city and highlight emerging best practice andinnovative ideas that others might wish to follow.
- Asian Green City Index was released a little bit late, asthe region has been long coping with environmental problems whilerecording high growth. Could you please give an idea why the Asian indexcame after those in Europe and Latin America ? Any difficulties incarrying out this project in the region?
Asiawas the third region where we did this study – after Europe and LatinAmerica , and by far not the last one. There are many more to follow,for example North America and Africa . But it doesn’t matter whetheryou do the study at the beginning or at the end of the Green City Indexseries. What counts is that you do it. Because it delivers successfulstrategies for sustainable urban development and forms an objectivebasis for a fruitful exchange of ideas between city planners in theregions. Cities have to be places worth living in it over the longterm. And as you said, this applies to Asia , with its boomingconurbations, more than anywhere else on earth. In the last five yearsalone, the number of inhabitants in Asian cities has been increasing byabout 100,000 a day! This is having an enormous impact on theinfrastructure: with the additional number of inhabitants,correspondingly more energy, clean water, transportation andenergy-efficient homes are required. And for Siemens as the greeninfrastructure pioneer this means a huge potential!
- An EIU expert said at the recent press conference to announce theAsian Green City Index that the index does not aim to rank cities in anorder of being green but it could help cities to know where they are tomake improvements. Do you think city authorize will take this intoaccount, and if yes, will they be given a hand by green technologypioneers like Siemens?
From our experience we cansay, that both the European and Latin American Green City Index havealready helped cities to learn from one another. They are developing abetter understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses regardingissues of urban sustainability. And we are fully committed to supportthem with information on efficient climate protection, and to partnerwith them in developing comprehensive, sustainable infrastructuresolutions. Siemens has a broad experience from projects in cities allover the world and the largest range of clean technologies – fromefficient and clean energy generation, transmission and use to publictransport, water treatment systems or building technologies. In fiscal2010 alone, Siemens generated revenue of around €28 billion with itsenvironmental portfolio. Projects in Vietnam are also contributingto this.
It is clear that Hanoi has a lot todo to be really green, not only because it wants to climb up this indexladder. Hanoi ’s environmental governance is well below average in theAsian Green City Index - togsether with “Land use and buildings”and “Sanitation.” Transport and water are big concerns too. What areyour recommendations for the city in the immediate future?
Every single measure that contributes to sustainable urban developmentis of high importance. The Asian Green City Index could be a goodbasis for further steps. It delivers – for the very first time – thefull picture of Hanoi in terms of environmental performance. Basedon the outcome of the study that 45 percent of the city's water supplyis lost through system leak, one immediate approach could be to upgradethe existing water systems and raise the population’s awareness ofsaving water. In addition, public mass transport systems such as metro,bus rapid transit or trams would be beneficial both for the people andfor the environment. And Vietnam does not need to start from zero.The country already has good green initiatives such as the energyconservation program and the Vietnam National Energy Efficiency program.Promoting them extensively and taking concrete actions is the key to agreen and livable Hanoi !
- It is saidthat the index will likely be announced every two-three years or so. Itis understandable when listed cities manage to improve itself, but whatabout other cities that are not included. Do you think this index willgive any impact on them?
Definitely! All citiescan benefit from the results. As already said: This Green City Indexprovides in-depth city profiles that not only describe the challenges,strengths and weaknesses of each city, but also highlight best practicesand innovative ideas that others might wish to follow. Just oneexample: Usually people do not think about buildings, but theastonishing fact is that buildings are responsible for 40% of globalenergy consumption. Siemens has proved that by applying intelligentbuilding technologies, 30% energy consumption can be saved. A proof forthis is our Siemens Center in Beijing , China . The same couldbe achieved with buildings in Vietnam .
- Therewas a suggestion at the panel discussion in Singapore after thepress conference that rich cities should help poorer cities inenvironmental issues. Do you think this can be done and how difficult itcan be?
When researching the Asian Green CityIndex, we already found some interesting examples where richer citiesprovide financial support and expertise to poorer cities. Take Japanfor instance: The Yokohama Waterworks Bureau, recognizing that it hadbenefited extensively from a British engineer’s technical assistance acentury earlier, began inviting experts from developing-world cities toattend training programs.
Siemens is also active in thisfield: In 2009 we founded a board with experts from our relevantdivisions and cross-sector functions such as corporate technology thatjointly evaluates the cities’ infrastructure requirements and developstailor-made solutions for municipal customers. Also, in recent months,we have built up a powerful team of 50 account managers that offercities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh our Siemens portfolio from a singlesource. Last but not least, Siemens also has financing solutions forcities that want to invest in energy-saving technologies when they havebudget restrictions: We call this Energy Performance Contracting. Themodel is simple: We provide our clients energy saving technology andthey can finance that by the money saved from reduced energyconsumption. So there is no additional investment for our clients.You can imagine, this model is already very successful – around theworld./.
