Pew Center - Leading firms that
give greater attention to energy efficiency report billions of
dollars in savings and millions of tons of avoided greenhouse gas
emissions, according to the new report “From Shop Floor to Top
Floor: Best Business Practices in Energy Efficiency” from the Pew
Center on Global Climate Change.

This report stems from a historic shift in business leaders’
perceptions of energy and climate change

issues. In the last decade, rising and volatile energy prices have
converged with increasing concern about climate change and growing
consumer support for action on energy and environmental issues to
drive a surge of corporate environmental commitments. As companies
have begun to act on these commitments, energy efficiency has
emerged as a first-priority strategy. Accordingly, many companies
have launched aggressive efficiency strategies, in many cases well
beyond the scope and reach of earlier efforts.



This report documents these leading-edge energy efficiency
strategies, distilling the best practices and providing guidance
and resources for other businesses choosing this path. It was
developed over nearly two years of effort from Pew Center on Global
Climate Change staff, a project advisory committee, members of the
Pew Center’s Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC),1
project consultants, and report authors.

The project encompassed a detailed survey of BELC members and
other leading companies, in-depth case studies of six companies, a
series of workshops on key energy efficiency topics, broader
research in the corporate energy field, and development of a
full-featured web portal to provide a platform for highlighting and
updating key findings from the project as well as providing tools,
resources, and other important information. The report covers
efficiency strategies encompassing internal operations, supply
chains, products and services, and cross-cutting issues.

On average, companies surveyed for this study
reported spending less than five percent of total revenues on
energy-even in today’s relatively high cost energy
environment.

A key finding from this report is that climate change has
reframed corporate energy strategies. Companies that take on carbon
footp inting and reduction strategies quickly come to see their
energy use in a whole new light. On average, companies surveyed for
this study reported spending less than five percent of total
revenues on energy-even in today’s relatively high cost energy
environment.

But when these companies calculate their carbon footprint, they
typically find that their energy consumption accounts for the great
majority of their directly measurable emissions impact. Suddenly,
energy shifts from a small cost item to the biggest piece of their
carbon footprint. Viewed from this perspective, energy efficiency
becomes a sustainability2 imperative.

 

The report was released at the energy efficiency conference in
Chicago, which addressed key report findings, including The Seven
Habits of Highly Efficient Companies.

 

These seven habits distill the elements of an exemplary corporate
energy efficiency strategy into a set of core practices and
principles. These are:

1. Efficiency is a core strategy, and not just another
   sustainability “box” to check;
   
   
   
   



2. Leadership and organizational support is real and sustained,
   all the way up to the CEO;
   
   
   
   



3. The company sets ambitious energy savings goals, and has a
   clear plan for how to meet them;
   
   
   
   



4. The strategy runs on a robust tracking and performance
   measurement system that allows decision makers to quickly identify
   problem areas and take corrective action;
   
   
   
   



5. The organization puts substantial and sustained resources into
   efficiency;
   
   
   
   



6. The energy efficiency strategy shows demonstrated results,
   meeting or beating prescribed energy savings targets;
   
   
   
   



7. The company communicates energy efficiency results as part of
   the core “stories” the company tells.

To read the full report and six in-depth case studies, visit href=”http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/PEW_EnergyEfficiency_FullReport.pdf”
target=”_blank”>here.