EBRD honours companies with best energy projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina

In the regions main city Sarajevo, an award ceremony took place that attracted representatives of business and political communities. In the ceremony, the Bank named the six best projects financed under the Western Balkans Sustainable Energy Financing Facility (WeBSEFF).

WeBSEFF has funded projects in the region which have achieved total energy savings of 500 GWh per year, equivalent to the energy consumption of a city like Zenica.

The ceremony formed part of a drive to promote energy savings and renewable energy solutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The winners cut across a range of sectors, such as brewing, wood-processing, food packaging and geothermal energy systems. The local companies who were recognised had substantially cut their energy costs, enhanced their production, and had therefore become more competitive.

The overall winner of the energy efficiency prize was the brewing company Bihacka Pivovara. The brewery’s investment in a range of new equipment and controls cut annual costs by €400,000 while also increasing production capacity and the quality of its beer.

Other winners were the wood-processing factory EU-PAL for a biomass production system that is largely fuelled by its own waste products.

“In these awards today we have seen how Bosnian companies can cut costs, reduce emissions, and become more competitive," Libor Krkoska, Head of the EBRD Resident Office in Sarajevo, said.

He added, “Support for SMEs and in particular energy efficiency investments remain the priority for EBRD in Bosnia and Herzegovina."

Michael Mueller, the CEO of Raiffeisen Bank, also awarded journalism prizes for the best coverage of sustainable energy topics throughout the year.

“We are delighted that the media have also recognised the importance of environment protection and made a great contribution towards raising awareness of this matter,” Mr Mueller enthused.  

WeBSEFF has similar programmes in Serbia and FYR Macedonia, and is supported by a technical assistance package financed by the European Union.