Johnson Controls: Your Energy Forum: Corporate Social Responsibility Archives

Energy Efficiency: Is Interest in the Boardroom translating into Action in the Boiler Room?
April 21, 2008

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By Clay Nesler

It is difficult to ignore the stories about energy prices, energy independence and climate change that blanket the front pages of newspapers and crawl across the bottom of our TV screens. It shouldn't surprise us, then, that executives are paying increased attention to energy management, as demonstrated by the second annual Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator survey, released in mid April.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, commercial buildings consume 40% of all natural gas and 60% of the electricity produced in this country. And according to "The Case for Investing in Energy Productivity," a new report from the McKinsey Global Institute, squeezing more productivity out of the energy that industries, homes and vehicles consume is the most economical way to stifle rising energy demand and control the output of planet-warming gases.

We initiated the Energy Efficiency Indicator survey of energy management decision-makers last year because we wanted to know if and how organizations were adjusting their operations in response to rising energy prices. On a number of fronts, we saw quite a bit of movement from 2007 to 2008. Nearly three-quarters of businesses are paying more attention to energy efficiency than they were just a year ago. That's up from the 62% in 2007.

We also saw an increase in the importance being attached to energy management. Today, one in five regards energy management as extremely important. In 2007, only 15% felt that strongly.

Businesses expect energy prices to continue to rise, but it may be that the full impact of risings costs has yet to be felt. In last year's survey, 79% said they expected energy costs to rise, and the average increase was anticipated to be 13%. However, according to the Energy Information Administration, commercial natural gas and electricity prices were relatively flat last year. (In this year's survey, 80% of respondents said they believe natural gas and electricity prices will rise over the next year. On average, the expectation is for prices to rise 14%.)
Despite expectations for rising energy prices, plans for investment in energy efficiency remained constant from 2007 to 2008. There is a trend, however, toward more significant energy efficiency measures including replacing inefficient equipment before the end of its useful life (41%, up 13% from 2007) and switching to energy efficient lighting (78%, up 11%). Also, 88% claim that energy efficiency is a design priority in construction and retrofit projects, up 11% from a year ago.
While cost has been the historic driver of energy efficiency investments, environmental responsibility is gaining ground as an additional motivator for energy efficiency investments. For 53% of respondents (up 5%), environmental responsibility is an equal or greater motivator than cost reduction for investing in energy efficiency. Seventeen percent cited environmental responsibility as the stronger motivator, up from 13% in 2007. Thirty-six percent (about the same as last year) said they were equally motivated by environmental responsibility and cost savings.
For the first time, the Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator probed deeper into how environmental and financial factors influenced energy efficiency decisions. We found it compelling that many companies are considering energy efficiency, renewable energy and green buildings as strategies to address environmental sustainability.

• 28% feel climate change has an extremely or very significant influence on their energy efficiency investments and 31% said it was somewhat significant.
• 39% think that significant legislation mandating energy efficiency and/or carbon reduction is extremely or very likely
• Nearly one-third (31%) believe that green buildings will be extremely or very important in attracting and retaining future employees.
• 34% plan to have new construction projects certified to a recognized green standard while 20% plan to certify existing buildings after retrofit. An additional 59% plan to include at green elements in future retrofits.
• 38% said they were including or considering solar electric (PV) technology in new construction or retrofit projects while 24% were also considering solar thermal.

Cost control has always been a boardroom issue and energy efficiency has proved to be an effective improvement strategy for decades. With increased organizational focus on environmental responsibility, it will be interesting to see if energy efficiency garners more strategic attention and investment in the coming years. We intend to continue monitoring and reporting on these important trends.

A complete report of the Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator research results is available by clicking on this link.

Energy Efficiency and Business – Who Cares, What Are They Doing, and Why
April 07, 2008

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An invitation to participate in a webcast announcing the Second Annual Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator Survey.
(Click here to register for webcast Monday, April 14, 2008 - 10:00 a.m Central)

Clay Nesler
Vice President, Global Energy and Sustainability, Johnson Controls, Inc.“Oil Surpasses $100+ a Barrel!”
It’s a common headline that sparks anxiety. But, does it spark anything else? The high price of energy is obviously having a profound effect on household budgets, discretionary spending and consumers’ psychology.

But what about businesses and other organizations – have rising energy prices affected any significant change in their operations, or in the ways in which they view investments in energy efficiency? Because if they have, it could conceivably contribute to long-term economic growth.

That’s what we’re trying to determine with our second annual Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator survey. We commissioned the first research in 2007, focusing on the ways in which companies and organizations in North America were responding to rising energy costs, what sort of payback they expected from investments in energy efficiency, to what extent investments in energy efficiency were motivated by concerns about the environment versus economics, and more.

Last year the research showed that just over half – 52 percent – of the executives surveyed said cost savings were either entirely or somewhat the driver for their decision to invest in energy efficiency measures. Thirty-five percent said cost savings and environmental responsibility are equal motivators, and 13 percent cited environmental concern as the greater motivator.

This year we added a few more questions to the survey. We wanted to look more closely at the drivers of energy efficiency investments: What role does awareness/concerns about climate change play? How important are government incentives?

We also wondered whether higher energy costs are making businesses take renewable energy sources more seriously, and whether a desire to be certified “green” by a third-party organization is having an impact.

In response to these provocative questions, we received appropriately thought-provoking answers. We’re going to be announcing the results during a Webcast on April 14 at 10 a.m. Central. In addition to reporting the research findings, the Webcast will feature a panel discussion moderated by Joel Makower, co-founder and executive editor of Greener World Media, Inc. He’ll discuss the findings with executives from different sectors who will describe the methods they are incorporating to help cope with rising energy prices, the operational and investment changes their organizations have made and plan to make. The panelists include:

·         Michael Feldman, deputy managing director of the Seattle-Tacoma Airport, which is aiming to be one of the greenest airports in the world
·         Stuart Carron, director, global facilities and real estate, for JohnsonDiversey, a manufacturer of industrial cleaning products that has strived to become more environmentally friendly
·         Steve McGuire, environmental marketing manager for Philips Lighting, a company that has helped pioneer more energy efficient lighting.

Their discussion promises to provide insights and even lessons about how to thrive in the face of rising energy costs. Please join us. Click here to register for this free Webcast, or go to http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=46411&regd=n

Keeping a Close Eye on Green Collar Jobs – Part Two
March 17, 2008

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Joy Clarke-Holmes

Johnson Controls

Last week, I wrote about an event held in Pittsburgh March 13-14: Good Jobs, Green Jobs: A National Green Jobs Conference.

And what an event it was! Organizers say more than 900 people attended from a broad range of interests: Businesses, state/local government, NGOs, and trade unions – all looking for ways to benefit from more jobs in the environmental sector.

As I mentioned, one of the reasons I went to the conference was a desire for a better definition of what a green collar job is. Although there still will be a good deal of discussion about specifics, I was pleased with the definition given in the Apollo Alliance’s outstanding publication, Green-Collar Jobs In America’s Cities: Building Pathways Out Of Poverty and Careers In The Clean Energy Economy.

“Green-collar jobs…are well-paid, career track jobs that contribute directly to preserving or enhancing environmental quality. Like traditional blue-collar jobs, green-collar jobs range from low-skill, entry-level positions to high-skill, higher-paid jobs, and include opportunities for advancement in both skills and wages.”

What I like about this definition is that it provides a better connection to the triple-bottom-line of sustainability: measuring success through financial, social and environmental advances. Reuters quotes Piper Jaffray’s Lois Quam as saying there are currently about 8 million "green" jobs in the United States in industries that attracted $148 million in investment in 2007, up 60 percent from the year before.

I spoke at a session on Friday, and from the reaction of our audience, it’s the cities and states – along with private-sector partnerships – that will make Green Collar Jobs a reality as a tool for economic development. (Note: Earlier in the week, a similar study and plan of action for state policy makers, Greener Pathways, was released in Milwaukee.)

I counted myself among the growing group of industry experts at the conference who strongly advocate energy efficiency and renewable projects as the best creator for green jobs.

An analysis by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) indicates that if investments and policies are implemented to meet Governor Martin O’Malley’s energy efficiency reduction goals of 15% of forecasted electricity consumption by 2015, more than 12,000 new jobs in the state will be created by 2025.

“These include well-paying trade and professional jobs needed to design and install energy efficiency measures. These new jobs, including both direct and indirect employment effects, would be the equivalent of some 100 new manufacturing plants relocating to Maryland, but without the public costs for infrastructure or the environmental impacts of new facilities,” according to the report.

As a bonus, these energy efficiency projects also are the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions. For example, Johnson Controls is helping the city of Baltimore reduce its $40 million annually energy budget by building a renewable methane gas energy generation facility and providing energy efficiency facility upgrades. Some of the project results:

Guaranteed reduction in energy consumption of $1.8 million annually
Captured former waste stream (methane gas) and converted it to a useful application
New facility cost funded by savings
Reduction in emissions of 13 million pounds of CO and 7.7 grams of nitrogen oxide

Most importantly, 25% of the project work done is being done by local certified minority and women-owned contractors. Johnson Controls is actively engaged in training these green collar workers, which is an investment in the city’s future. After they’ve worked on our job, they’ll be ready and able to be hired on the next green initiative. And there are sure to be others in the pipeline.

The Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference absolutely was a turning point for all involved. Now we’ve got to get the word out about the need for more public-private partnerships that advance these types of projects in every city and every state in the country.

Keeping a Close Eye on Green Collar Jobs
March 10, 2008

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Joy Clarke-Holmes

Johnson Controls

An event being held in Pittsburgh March 13-14 is the first I’ve seen that focus entirely on what truly has become the buzz phrase of 2008: Green Collar Jobs.

Good Jobs, Green Jobs: A National Green Jobs Conference is promoted as an event that “will bring together national leaders and advocates to share the best thinking about the link between economic opportunity and environmental solutions.” I’ll be speaking Friday, March 14 at 8:45 AM, and I’m looking forward to an exciting session.

First of all, what’s a green collar job? I haven't found a single definition for it, and if you have one please share it, but it generally includes elements of what is in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, recently passed by Congress, which provides support for people in these areas:

the energy-efficient building, construction, and retrofits industries
the renewable electric power industry
the energy efficient and advanced drive train vehicle industry
the biofuels industry
the deconstruction and materials use industries
the energy efficiency assessment industry serving the residential, commercial, or industrial sectors
manufacturers that produce sustainable products using environmentally sustainable processes and materials

The term “Green Collar” actually was first brought up at a 1976 Congressional hearing, when university professor Patrick Heffernan, delivered his paper, “Jobs for the Environment — The Coming Green Collar Revolution.”

There was quite a lull in the conversation about the connection between the environment and job creation until organizations such as the Apollo Alliance (launched by the Institute for America’s Future and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy) and the Blue Green Alliance (led by the United Steelworkers and Sierra Club) recognized the powerful economic force that could be created.

These days, presidential candidates refer to green collar jobs as part of their platform addressing environmental issues and mayors look to green collar jobs as a means of attracting high-tech companies to their cities.

Even more important – green collar businesses are attracting new, young workers who have an environmental ethic and older, seasoned workers who are eager to be retrained in growing fields.

At the Good Jobs, Green Jobs conference, I look forward to meeting other participants to share best practices, advocate more political solutions and encourage investment in green collar industries and energy efficiency projects.

Pittsburgh in March? It will never look so green.

Joy Clarke-Holmes is the Director of Local Government & Metro Markets Solutions Sales for Johnson Controls, Inc. She manages marketing and sales operations for hundreds of municipal customers across the United States for Johnson Controls, a global leader in creating infrastructure improvements with economic impact.

Joy also represents Johnson Controls in several national organizations, including the National Association of Counties, International City/County Management Association, National League of Cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

In addition to her 25 years of business experience, Joy is involved in many civic organizations. She has a BS in Education from the City College of New York and is a graduate of the Management Institute at the University of Southern California.

Changing More Than Your Light Bulbs
February 19, 2008

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By George Gansner

As 2008 gets under way, the many implications and consequences of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 are beginning to make waves. Signed into law by President Bush on December 19th, 2007, the law will make a major impact on lighting, and how home owners and businesses look at energy savings.

One key initiative of the recently signed law is that it "mandates increases in energy efficiency of light bulbs by 30 percent. This will effectively phase out most common types of incandescent light bulbs by 2012."1
Many people are reluctant to change from incandescent lighting because they have not been educated well enough on the benefits of newer technologies. Consider this:

• Increasing efficiency of light bulbs by 30 percent has already been done through the introduction of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), as well as the use of energy saving halogen technology.
These two technologies have overcome many of the early major objections stated below in bold:
• Dimming is not possible: Actually, dimming is now possible on certain types of CFL and all halogen lighting.

• Light output is not equivalent: Light output is the same and sometimes better than incandescent lighting.

• CFL doesn't provide good color: Now you are able to select from several color options with CFL lamps - 2700K, 3500K, 4100K, and 5000K (K = Kelvin).

• Color rendering is not as good as with incandescent bulbs: Energy saving halogen technology provides exactly the same color rendering as incandescent, and CFL color rendering is 82 CRI (color rendering index) on a scale of 1-100, considered very good (incandescent color rendering is 100).

• They don't last as long: Halogen lasts up to three times longer, while CFLs last up to 10 times longer than incandescent lamps.

Consumers and businesses alike must continue to learn how to save energy within the needs of their own space. A high level of education is the most important aspect in helping to make a decision as to what type of lamp can benefit their needs.
Does a business know that changing incandescent desk lamps for CFLs can provide up to 75 percent energy savings? A desk lamp doesn't seem like much, but that's just the beginning. That same incandescent lamp is in ceiling-can lighting, wall sconces and other applications. So here is a one-lamp scenario: One watt, at 10 cents per kilowatt hour, at 4000 hours running per year will save 40 cents per watt, per year. That is an approximate savings of $30 in energy alone. Add in the cost of the lamp and labor and the savings grows.

On March 13th, 2007, a coalition including Philips Lighting joined together to press the government to ban inefficient lighting2. Philips has considered sustainability a long-standing initiative. Moving to more efficient lighting is just one way to positively impact the environment. You can read more about Philips Sustainability initiatives at: http://www.philips.com and http://www.asimpleswitch.com.

The government understands the impact energy savings can have on the environment. Now it's time to educate consumers and businesses on how they can support one of the most important initiatives our generation has ever seen - and benefit from it at the same time.

1(http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/energy/)
2 New York Times, March 14th, 2007

George Gansner is a Field Marketing Manager for Philips Lighting. His responsibilities include Philips professional channel marketing initiatives for the central part of the United States. George can be reached at george.gansner@philips.com for more information.

"How Green is your Story?"
October 12, 2007

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By Steve Thomas

Attending the recent Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) conference, held at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., was a great way to get up-to-speed on current environmental issues and trends, while also gaining an understanding for the point of view of the media folks who report on environmental issues. The conference was very well organized, with more than 900 attendees from media, academic institutions, corporations and non-governmental organizations.

I wished I could have been three people at many points during the conference, since there were usually at least three conference sessions I wanted to attend at any one time. SEJ did a good job of bringing in experts to represent more than one point of view on major issues and giving those experts equal time to present their viewpoints.

One thing I learned that surprised me was that journalists are skeptical about ethanol as a good renewable energy solution. Many journalists are not even willing to consider it renewable energy, since they say it takes a great deal of fossil fuel to plant, tend and harvest the corn (which is most often used) and more energy to convert the corn to ethanol. Then they think that there is only a small benefit to the environment of burning ethanol instead of gasoline, and they are worried that rising corn prices are having a negative impact on many communities.

On the other hand, photovoltaic solar seems to be the renewable energy favored by most journalists, with wind energy being a close second. With wind, however, there were questions about the death rates of birds coming into contact with turbine blades and differing opinions about the proper location for wind farms, with much discussion about whether the need for renewable energy outweighs concerns about spoiling the view in some prime locations.

Many journalists took the opportunity to try out a variety of hybrid vehicles available for test drives at the conference. While they enjoyed the experience and liked the models they drove, quite a few also remarked that they couldn’t afford something like a hybrid SUV and are having a hard time with the economics of even the low-end hybrids. The conversation goes something like this: “The 1992 Corolla is still running fine, it gets good mileage, and I don’t make a lot of money. How can I justify the additional cost of a hybrid?” The conversations were a lot like the one I had with my wife after test-driving a Toyota Prius at a Milwaukee dealership recently.

We learned one solution to this dilemma during the very popular tour of Google’s headquarters. The company offers its full-time U.S. employees a $5,000 subsidy toward the purchase of a vehicle with an EPA fuel economy rating of 45 mpg or higher. I have since learned that quite a few other corporations offer similar incentives, including Hyperion, Bank of America, Timberland, Patagonia, and ST Microelectronics. To find out the details, visit www.hybridcars.com.

We traveled to the Googleplex on a very nice shuttle bus, one of 30 low-emission buses Google runs to and from its Silicon Valley headquarters, providing no-cost transportation to almost 30 percent of its headquarters employees. When we arrived, the Google folks let us walk around on the roof-tops of their buildings to get a close-up view of the new photovoltaic solar panels they have installed.

Journalists were impressed when Bill Weihl, the Green Energy Czar for Google, and Dan Reicher, the Director of Climate Change for Google, showed off a new solar carport the company has installed and demonstrated several vehicles using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. V2G technology allows for the bi-directional sharing of electricity between electric vehicles and the electric power grid. The technology essentially transforms each vehicle into an energy storage system, thus increasing power reliability and the amount of renewable energy available to the grid during peak power usage.

The most important thing I was reminded of at this conference is that journalists are skeptical about almost everything, especially corporate claims about being green. While companies like Google may get a pass for now, the prevailing view is that most corporate environmental claims are simply green-washing. It’s clear that companies have to be able to walk the talk on every level to be seen as an environmentally friendly by environmental journalists.

Sustainable Speed Dating at RMI
August 30, 2007

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By Marc D. Andraca
Director, Global Energy & Sustainability
Johnson Controls Building Efficiency Business

The Rocky Mountain Institute's mission statement isn't modest: "We foster the efficient and restorative use of resources to make the world secure, just, prosperous, and life-sustaining."

RMI turned 25 this year and celebrated the milestone with a two-day party in the Colorado mountains. Although there was music, dancing, movies and food, you'd be hard-pressed to explain the event in the generally understood definition of "party."

Imagine instead a kind of parallel-universe speed dating session. In the average person's universe, speed dating is about going to an event and moving from station to station, meeting someone for 5 minutes, nervously fidgeting around to find common ground and assess mutual chemistry (or so I'm told...I've never been).

In the RMI 25th anniversary celebration, Amory Lovins, the founder and Chief Scientist, was the fellow at the event, and at each table were stationed a set of billionaires, policy specialists, military advisors, think-tankers, inventors and activists. Instead of "small talk," each conversation focused instead on "smart talk": extracting the greatest amount of wisdom, knowledge, vision and perspective per minute as possible. In the viewing gallery were about 200 folks with the unique opportunity and pure privilege of watching these quick conversations unfold.

Former President Bill Clinton got things started with a full-throated synthesis of the central challenges facing the planet today: security, poverty, resource depletion, species destruction and climate change; how each and every one can be tied to energy; how RMI has helped to set the agenda and lead the world in thought and action for 25 years on this front.

Four 'speed dating' sessions were to follow, with a continuing stream of insights, comments, and pronouncements - smart talk. Here are a few of the ones that I managed to capture:

"We didn't have a vision. 'Comply' is definitely not one. Sustainability turns out to be a better way to bigger profits."
Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface

"Our customers used to ask us if our products were 'good for me.' Now they also ask us if our products our good 'for my community, and for the planet.' We see ourselves in a race to the top. And that's a good thing."
Jeff Seabright, The Coca Cola Company

"Our customer research actually tells us that we have not reached the tipping point on sustainability. We still see ourselves in the very early days. But we have made huge progress in three years, and now just see it as good business."
Rob Walton, Wal-Mart

"I want my people to get a 'save the world bonus,' not feel like they need to make sacrifices to apply their talents on important work."
Michael Potts, CEO of RMI

"Companies make risky investments, but not uncertain ones. We are in the business of transforming uncertainty into risk."
Jesse Fink, MissionPoint Capital Partners

"Forty to fifty countries in the world are essentially blank slates. Making them secure and successful states requires connecting the green revolution with alleviating global poverty."
Clare Lockhart, Institute for State Effectiveness

"We have been having a dialogue of the deaf. Our motivations don't have to be similar, if the actions they provoke are the same."
James Woolsey, former CIA Director

"Companies make a profit to exist, not the other way around."
Anonymous

"Innovation is often the sudden cessation of stupidity."
Anonymous

Tom Friedman, columnist for the New York Times, closed out the celebration. He asked himself and the audience "if we have enough time." Enough time to address climate change. To change the course of poverty. To make the U.S. into a green country. To reverse species depletion. And in response he quoted a colleague with a closing answer: "We have just enough time...but only if we start right now.

And thanks to Johnson Controls for helping support this incredible event. The company was a silver sponsor.

What Will It Take for Businesses to View Energy Efficiency as Sexy as Solar?
June 05, 2007

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More than three decades after the 1970s oil embargoes, and President Jimmy Carter's famous Sweater Speech extolling the virtues of doing less, energy efficiency remains the ugly stepchild of environmental improvement. True, green advocates urge us to walk instead of drive, shun clothes dryers for clotheslines or swap out incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents. But these are suggestions that few folks heed, since such notions suggest "doing without," a concept unacceptable to most Americans, and to many others around the globe.
But for companies, it's a different story. Energy efficiency has a strong foundation in a bottom-line-centric world. And there are rich resources -- case studies, how-to manuals, calculators, incentive programs, technical assistance agencies, and more -- to help companies manage the process. There's also a sizeable industry that's grown up around helping companies audit, assess, implement, and finance energy-efficiency solutions.
And yet, we've barely begun to harvest the low-hanging fruit, let alone sow the seeds of an economy that can continue to grow and prosper using continually less energy from oil and other polluting resources.
It's long been axiomatic that energy efficiency is the awkward stepchild of renewables -- that is, that it's sexier to install cutting-edge renewable-energy technologies like solar panels than to engage in more prosaic (and less-visible) measures to get more value out of each BTU or barrel.

That mindset has bedeviled proponents of efficiency -- people like Amory Lovins, who for some thirty years has promulgated the notion that we can solve our energy and climate challenges by harnessing existing technologies that allow us to garner ever-greater economic productivity out of fewer barrels of oil, tons of coal, cubic feet of natural gas, and pounds of uranium. (Lovins' 1997 white paper, Climate: Making Money and Making Sense (download - PDF) remains one of the best articulations of how companies and economies can profitably harness efficiency.)

The world is ripe with efficiency opportunities. ("The low-hanging fruit," as Lovins puts it, "is mushing up around our ankles.") His Rocky Mountain Institute points out that in industrial settings, "there are abundant opportunities to save 70% to 90% of the energy and cost for lighting, fan, and pump systems; 50% for electric motors; and 60% in areas such as heating, cooling, office equipment, and appliances." In general, up to 75% of the electricity used in the U.S. today could be saved with efficiency measures that cost less than the electricity itself.

But what will it take for businesses to harvest this bounty of opportunity? At what price of electricity or barrel of oil will it become “worth it” for companies to make the investments that, most analysts agree, can repay themselves in as little as a few months? What rate of return must these investments yield to make sense to companies?

These are questions that forward-thinking business leaders will need to answer in the coming months and years, as climate and energy issues continue to garner attention. The answers to these questions will be of increasing interest not just to CFOs, but also to their shareholders and customers, for whom companies’ energy use and climate footprint are gaining increased importance.

On May 17, Johnson Controls will release results from a first-ever Energy Efficiency Indicator, a research report that examines how much North American businesses anticipate energy prices increasing and how they are responding. (Results will be posted here and at http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/cg-pressroom.) It will be interesting to view and assess the results to see where energy efficiency ranks in the minds and strategies of U.S. companies -- and the potential for companies to harvest all that low-hanging fruit.

Joel Makower is Executive Editor of GreenBiz.com.

State of the Union: Energy is about Technology, Buildings and...
February 14, 2007

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The energy pundits certainly have had a field day in the aftermath of President Bush’s State of the Union speech (link to speech - http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/01/20030128-19.html)

Many of us were pleased to hear the President's plan for reducing U.S. gasoline usage, as alternative and renewable fuels are a very important part of our nation's energy future and they can contribute mightily to curbing greenhouse gas emissions. It’s also important to, as the President says, “press on with battery research for plug-in and hybrid vehicles."

While much of the focus is on America’s addiction to gasoline, in actuality, the transportation industry only consumes about one-quarter of our nation’s energy. Wouldn’t you think the pundits would be more focused on the area where there can be a bigger impact: Buildings

According to the American Institute of Architects, “Buildings account for forty-eight percent of U.S. energy consumption and generate far more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector.” From schools and office buildings to big-box retailers and factories, all those structures use energy.

The good news is that something can be done, and it’s far easier than setting up biofuel stations around the country. It is always easier and cheaper to save energy than it is to create it. In fact, the president said, “In this century, the greatest environmental progress will come about not through endless lawsuits or command-and-control regulations, but through technology and innovation.”

Commercial, off-the-shelf technologies exist to save a third of almost any building’s energy use. Yes, Johnson Controls is in the business of high-tech building controls that help save energy and money. But there are dozens of innovative technologies – from better lighting and fixtures to insulation and new windows– that reduce energy and result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The president’s commitment to energy efficiency in buildings was demonstrated the day after the State of the Union when he signed an executive order (link to http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070124-2.html) requiring federal agencies to lead by example by reducing energy and water use. Agencies also need to ensure that new construction and major renovation of existing buildings comply with sustainability principles.

Energy efficiency is too often overlooked in the energy policy debate. If we are to truly manage our energy needs and combat greenhouse gas emissions, we need a balanced portfolio of remedies, which includes a major focus on energy efficiency, particularly as it relates to buildings.

Energy Efficiency Challenges
September 14, 2006

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In this dialogue, Gerrit Reinders, director, Sustainable Energy Solutions, Johnson Controls Inc., and Ron Fillmore, Dow Corning global executive director for Construction and Xiameter, discuss the importance of sustainability to businesses.

How are energy-efficiency challenges driving business sustainability initiatives?

GR: With today’s volatile energy prices and unprecedented awareness of the environmental impact of our addiction to oil, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that upgrading buildings to make them “green” is critical, particularly since green buildings are, by definition, very resource efficient. Many local governments now require that new buildings be constructed to green standards. This is a great thing that unfortunately only addresses one percent of buildings; the opportunity is greatest if we also “green” the existing building stock. For that reason, organizations are hiring energy services companies to renew their infrastructures with more energy-efficient equipment. Some are paying for these improvements through the savings they generate. We’ve seen energy savings as high as 90 percent by upgrading lighting and 60 percent by upgrading HVAC, office equipment, and appliances. The business case for energy efficiency is clear, and there’s widespread acceptance that doing the right thing and making money are not conflicting strategies.

Continue reading "Energy Efficiency Challenges" »