Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia—The Department of Sustainable Development of the Organization of American States (OAS), through its Caribbean Sustainable Energy Program (CSEP), and the ECPA Energy Efficiency Working Group hosted a workshop on energy efficiency designs for office and public buildings in tropical climates. The event took place at the Bay Gardens Inn in Rodney Bay from February 28 through March 1^st, 2013.

The workshop addressed capacity building of energy government officials and stakeholders responsible for developing standards, and provided them with guidance on opportunities and challenges linked to the inclusion of energy efficiency measures and renewable energy conversion technologies in the Caribbean Building Standard that is currently in revision by the CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ). A roundtable was held to debate future challenges, gaps and barriers linked to the implementation of energy efficiency programs and activities, ways to advance discussions on this topic with policymakers, and next steps for their successful deployment. The delegates also highlighted the need to create greater public awareness in the Caribbean with regard to energy efficiency.

About 40 guests from National Standards Bodies and government officials responsible for the energy agenda in eight Caribbean nations, delegates from international and regional organizations, engineers and members of the Saint Lucia Institute of Architects attended the event. Participants provided feedback on the prospective guidelines on energy efficiency designs for office buildings, which were developed by the Spanish consulting firm Trama TecnoAmbiental (TTA) at the request of the OAS Department of Sustainable Development. The delegates indicated their interest in reviewing the proposed guidelines in order to ensure they respond to Caribbean needs and challenges.

Experts from Costa Rica, Mexico and Spain imparted their experiences on energy efficiency in buildings. Addressing the delegates at the meeting, Paulo Cesar Galván Tobón, from the Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (CONUEE) of Mexico, said that “the Government of Mexico is committed to supporting the governments of the Caribbean countries in improving energy efficiency.” The Government of Mexico chairs the ECPA Energy Efficiency Working Group.

The Department of Sustainable Development, with the support provided by the Government of Mexico through CONUEE, will use the received feedback to design future activities of the ECPA Energy Efficiency Working Group in the Caribbean. Said activities will contemplate public awareness in energy efficiency, implementation of the ISO 50001 standard on energy management systems, and energy efficiency in the transport sector among other topics.

See event link, here.