Making a Commitment to Improve Energy Efficiency
Depending on where your organization is on its journey to becoming more energy-efficient, a commitment to energy-efficiency could mean something different to each organization and the Energy Management Team. Here are some ideas that your team can use to develop an organizational commitment of their own.
Commitments for Long-Term Change
Developing an Energy Management Plan and Creating an Energy Management Team is no simple task. But these steps can be integral for long-term success and meaningful changes within your organization. Here are some ideas to help make these goals a reality.
Commit to Regular Energy Management Team Meetings
If you've taken the time to recruit a strong and diverse Energy Management Team, its important that all the members are in attendance for team meetings. When team members miss important meetings, it can prolong the process of implementing an Energy Management Plan and postpone key decisions until all members have a chance to weigh in on them. Get a commitment from all Energy Management Team Members to make meeting attendance a priority.
Meeting Commitment Tip: Decide on a convenient time and location for everyone on the team. Choose a recurring date and time to consistently hold meetings. For example, the first Monday of every month. Whether you hold meetings weekly, monthly or quarterly, get the meetings scheduled for the year and on everyone's calendar now. This will help to avoid scheduling conflicts and team members missing meetings.
Commit to a Timeline
Outlining the goals of your team and deadlines to accomplish each task in the Energy Management Plan will help your team stay on track. Commit to important deadlines that your team sets as priorities. Make sure each team member has access to this timeline and review it at each team meeting to discuss if your goals are on track. This will provide an opportunity to discuss any issues with the whole team and allow for brainstorming solutions.
Commit to Communication
As your team develops its Energy Management Plan, it will need to secure resources and get help from other areas in the organization. The team needs to make sure it is communicating regularly with the Energy Director to make sure its needs are being met. Does the team need funding to conduct an energy audit? Are there policy changes that need to be made within the organization? Any organizational change can stall a great plan if it isn't communicated properly to the appropriate audience. Building a plan without getting feedback from those that need to implement it, will only result in resistance and problems.
Commit to an Energy Audit
And Energy Audit is one of the best opportunities for identifying ways your organization can begin to reduce its energy usage and save on energy costs. Find out more about energy audits at...
Commit to an Energy-Saving Goal
Setting a goal for energy savings will help your Energy Management Team know when its changes have been successful. Sharing these goals and celebrating success when goals are met can motivate employees to be active participants in energy-saving initiatives. Don't forget to use S.M.A.R.T. goals for energy-savings. S.M.A.R.T. goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. For example, a goal for your organization could be to reduce utility bills by 5% within one year. This goal is specific enough to be measured by reviewing utility bills, is relevant to energy savings, and can be completed and evaluated within the set time-frame.
Tools for Goal Setting:
- Use ENERGY STAR© Portfolio Manager to compare your organization's energy usage to that of similar organizations.
- An Energy Audit by a certified professional will help identify equipment that isn't performing as efficiently as it was designed to or where upgrading to newer, more efficient technology can result in energy-savings.
- ENERGY STAR'S Planning a Communications Strategy worksheet can help you work defining a goal, setting strategic objectives, and sharing your goal with the organization.
