Continuing from our previous blog, a diverse “multi-path” approach is required for energy management to reduce energy, greenhouse gas emissions and operating costs.  Two of the paths suggested includes measuring energy efficiency between diverse premises (Benchmarking) and the five-steps to successful energy management.

The five steps to successful energy management are:

Step 1: Public commitment by the Executive – management commitment.  No plan for continuous improvement will work in the absence of an energy management system.  Planning is needed, because an energy management system delivers cost and energy savings through continuous improvement plans.

Step 2: Make someone responsible for the project – “where there are champions, there are savings”.  Energy performance needs to be included in senior staff accountabilities.  These accountabilities should cascade through the management hierarchy.  A common mistake is to appoint energy managers.  These energy managers often lack the authority to achieve significant and sustainable improvements in energy performance.  Energy management is a line responsibility.

Step 3: Implement an energy audit – find diverse technical solutions and implement.  More on this in later blogs.

Step 4: Staff education and training – staff motivation and find people solutions.  To back up the training, standard operating procedures for your business operations should include the control of energy.  As staff are responsible for operational controls e.g. switching equipment off and on, maintenance activities, use of plant & equipment and decision-making in relation to energy, they need to be aware of how their actions influence energy use.  There is a need for ongoing training and staff awareness in the quest for energy cost reduction.

Step 5: Report and measure progress – “What gets measured, gets done”.  more on this in later blogs. This briefly needs the management of energy related key performance measures or indicators (KPIs).  An information system is needed to measure and report energy use, plus targets to be achieved for all energy related KPIs.  These KPIs may range from the total energy consumption of the building through to the energy demand of a business operation, etc.

Energy remains a controllable cost, and your company can make significant savings through a systematic approach to the management of energy.  No part of a successful energy management system is new because it is no different from effective OH&S, environmental or quality management systems.

Please contact Susmet to facilitate and advise you on energy management.

Disclaimer:

This blog is part of a continuing series discussing sustainability and energy management issues. Contributions featuring achievements, techniques, products, and processes are welcome. Please feel free to contact Susmet to suggest ideas on future issues. Whilst every effort is made to see that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinion or statement appears in this blog, Susmet accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever for the consequences of any such inaccurate or misleading data, opinion, or statement.