Between October 28 and November 1, UNDP Serbia has hosted 29 colleagues from Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina who were interested in learning about the activities of the local UNDP Energy Portfolio, especially their efforts in improving energy efficiency in public sector in Serbia.

During the first day of the visit, visitors got acquainted with the Energy Management System through presentations and lectures held at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade. The next day, the visiting delegations were familiarized with concrete steps in the process of establishing this system in Serbia and the region. The study tour continued in Pancevo and Novi Sad during the subsequent two days, where guests had the opportunity to see how the system functions in practice, as well as to learn about its advantages in enabling budgetary savings stemming from improved energy efficiency. The last day of the tour was marked by presentations of the work of Energy Managers Network, established through the efforts of the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, as well as the Info Center for support to energy managers, set up within the Ministry of Mining and Energy.

Since 2015, UNDP Serbia and the Ministry of Mining and Energy together with numerous towns and municipalities are implementing the “Removing Barriers to Promote and Support Energy Management Systems in Municipalities throughout Serbia” project, aimed at improving energy efficiency in public sector. Since UNDP country offices in Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina are introducing similar activities, the initiative for the study tour came from UNDP energy experts from those four countries, who wished to learn more about the work of UNDP in Serbia, as a good practice example in the field of energy efficiency.