Manufacturers Best Practice Guide
Planning an Energy Program
Without a doubt, the best way to begin making your company more energy efficient is by designing and implementing an energy management plan. A well thought out energy management plan will guide every step of your efficiency actions and will ensure a thorough process. Enlisting corporate level engagement, competing audits, benchmarking and educating employees are all important pieces of the efficiency plan.
"There are so many different facets to energy management that it's tough to juggle all the balls at once. We've taken a proactive approach to meeting our goals by using new technologies and making sure that people are empowered to use them effectively," says Mike Lavazza, Cisco Systems manager for operations and engineering.
Common actions to facilitate planning and implementation of an energy management program:
- Take corporate leadership in making energy savings a priority in your company
- Appoint an energy manager responsible for overseeing plan management
- Adopt an energy policy that clearly articulates company goals and objectives
- Convene an energy team to develop an action plan
- Educate and involve the company employees
- Establish base line data by conducting an energy audit and benchmarking your facility/facilities
- Develop a measurement and verification (M&V) plan, based on the energy policy and action plan
- Continue to monitor and evaluate the overall plan in tandem with individual systems over time
- Determine funding strategies, including federal and state tax credits, incentives, rebates and other programs
In practice, the lines between these steps are blurred, and the timing of each depends largely on the characteristics of a given company. Some steps run concurrently, while others might not be warranted at all. Each step described in this best practices guide should be evaluated and tailored to serve your specific needs.
There are numerous potential benefits to your energy efficiency projects. Consider whether the projects might:
- Put your company in compliance with state laws and guidelines
- Institute long-term savings
- Improve production processes
- Enhance data collection to control costs
- Protect assets
- Reduce environmental impacts
- Garner positive customer and public attention
- Build employee pride
Leading by Example: Raytheon
In 2005, Raytheon saved approximately 37 million kWh of electricity. They did this by involving executives, the global facilities manager, local facility managers, certified energy managers, 200 employee "Energy Champions" and all of Raytheon's 80,000 employees. Their savings reflect a well-established energy management plan that was implemented in 1996, built on Raytheon's attention to energy throughout the previous 20 years. As an ENERGY STAR partner they have contributed to an EPA handbook, "Teaming Up to Save Energy," and a how-to guide to building an energy management team. Raytheon has also been honored with a 5th annual Flex Your Power Award for their efficiency actions.
Resources
Department of Energy Best Practices For Energy Management in the Industrial Sector