The Seven Habits of Highly Efficient Companies

Sustainable Life Media (Miner) - Leading firms that give greater attention to energy efficiency report billions of dollars in savings and millions of tons of avoided greenhouse gas emissions, according to the new report "From Shop Floor to Top Floor: Best Business Practices in Energy Efficiency" from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

A key finding from this report is that climate change has reframed corporate energy strategies. Companies that take on carbon footprinting and reduction strategies quickly come to see their energy use in a whole new light. On average, companies surveyed for this study reported spending less than five percent of total revenues on energy-even in today's relatively high cost energy environment. But when these companies calculate their carbon footprint, they typically find that their energy consumption accounts for the great majority of their directly measurable emissions impact. Suddenly, energy shifts from a small cost item to the biggest piece of their carbon footprint. Viewed from this perspective, energy efficiency becomes a sustainability imperative.
These seven habits distill the elements of an exemplary corporate energy efficiency strategy into a set of core practices and principles. These are:

1. Efficiency is a core strategy, and not just another sustainability "box" to check;
2. Leadership and organizational support is real and sustained, all the way up to the CEO;
3. The company sets ambitious energy savings goals, and has a clear plan for how to meet them;
4. The strategy runs on a robust tracking and performance measurement system that allows decision makers to quickly identify problem areas and take corrective action;
5. The organization puts substantial and sustained resources into efficiency;
6. The energy efficiency strategy shows demonstrated results, meeting or beating prescribed energy savings targets;
7. The company communicates energy efficiency results as part of the core "stories" the company tells.