Turkestan, Kazakhstan – The representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the experts of the European Union funded SECCA project visited the city of Turkestan on 11 February 2025. As part of this visit, they presented the Energy Efficiency Certificates to 26 public schools built in the Turkestan region in 2023–2024, and delivered an educational lecture on energy efficiency of buildings for the school principals and the representatives of Departments of Education of the Turkestan city and region.

Kazakhstan prioritises energy conservation and saving, introduction of relevant regulatory requirements, and reduction of the energy intensity of buildings by 15% by 2029. The Government considers the use of buildings energy efficiency labelling as one of the most effective solutions to increase transparency in energy consumption and encourage the implementation of energy-efficient technologies, particularly in the public sector, which currently accounts for 8% of total energy consumption. For this, the legislative framework has already been established in Kazakhstan, including approved regulations for determining energy efficiency rating and a building labelling system that meets the European standards.

The Ministry of Industry and Construction, in collaboration with the SECCA project, has been systematically working to promote energy efficiency in the country’s educational institutions and a more widespread use of energy efficiency labelling. As part of this work, in 2024, the parties initiated an energy efficiency analysis of 100 new public school in Kazakhstan and organised a series of regional training sessions for representatives of government bodies and educational institutions in the cities of Shymkent, Turkestan, and Aktau.

The visit to Turkestan and the activities it involved raised the awareness of the participants about Kazakhstan’s and the EU’s energy efficiency policy and showcased successful sustainable energy solutions for public buildings.