Energy Management Pathfinding: Understanding Manufacturers' Ability and Desire to Implement Energy Efficiency

Abstract

Manufacturers are scrambling for relief from today's energy expenses and price volatility. Most industry decision-makers believe the solution is to seek the lowest available energy prices. Too often, managers fail to grasp the opportunities offered by energy management, which focuses on both consumption and prices. Industry can be resistant to energy management for a variety of reasons. Simply put, energy management has no traditional place in the typical manufacturer's chart of organization, job descriptions, and performance accountabilities. While technology is fundamental to energy efficiency, it is people who make it work in an organizational context. DuPont, Frito-Lay, Unilever, and Kimberly-Clark are a few of the forward-thinking companies that have found ways to build energy management into their daily operations to positive effect. The Alliance to Save Energy is documenting these companies' experiences in a series of case studies that reflect the organizational and behavioral aspects of corporate-wide energy management. Case studies show that energy management motives and approaches are somewhat varied-there is no “one size fits all” solution. The Alliance offers a typology of industrial energy management strategies to illustrate the range of opportunities available to industry. Ultimately, it is a manufacturer's organizational character that determines its ability to manage energy consumption. A checklist included in this paper allows the reader to diagnose a manufacturer's aptitude for undertaking various energy management strategies.