![]() |
Best Practice Guide |
|
Food and Beverage Growers and Processors |
||
![]() |
|
Planning an Energy ProgramGetting StartedBefore investing in either energy efficiency or energy conservation measures (EEMs and ECMs), a business should set-up a wider framework for all energy planning and investment. This helps assure that resources invested, whether financial or human, are expended wisely and strategically. The two most critical pieces of such a framework are the appointment of an energy manager and the adoption of an energy management program. An energy manager is responsible for facilitating and coordinating the planning, procurement and utilization of energy resources. Their duties might be solely focused on energy, or else energy might be one of many duties. Similarly, an energy manager might be responsible for a single building, an entire campus, or even global operations spread throughout several countries. A background in engineering is common; increasingly, business and communication skills are also required. The energy manager carefully analyzes a company's potential for investment, articulates findings and recommendations to company decision makers, oversees implementation of ECMs and EEMs, and then tracks and quantifies results stemming from the energy management program. In doing so, successful energy managers depend on their relationships with co-workers, such as building staff, business managers and company executives, as well as external partners, such as vendors, contractors, energy service providers and the local utilities. If you think of the energy manager as the conductor of a symphony, then the energy management program is his baton, weaving together a dynamic set of operations, equipment and people into a finely tuned, and well-timed orchestration. The energy management program encompasses a company's energy-related priorities as well as a strategy to attain energy savings (expressed in kilowatt-hours and therms) and energy cost savings (expressed in dollars).
Resources Northwest Food Processors Association Efficiency Practices website offers useful information and tips for the food processing industry. |