A Collaborative Model for a Sustainable Management System for Energy at Small to Medium Industrial Enterprises

Abstract

Small to medium size industrial facilities often lack adequate resources to implement a sustainable energy management program. A strategy to overcome this constraint is to collaborate and develop partnerships between the company and other external resources. This paper describes a unique business-to-business partnership between Cook Composites and Polymers Co. (CCP) an industrial firm and Burns & McDonnell a large, multi-disciplined engineering firm that provides energy services. Over the last two years the firms have worked together towards a sustainable energy management program for CCP which incorporates the Plan-Do- Check-Act continual improvement cycle. They have collaborated on this work with government, industry and other partners and are now working towards certification under the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Management System for Energy (MSE). ANSI/MSE 2000:2008 will be incorporated into CCP’s existing Integrated Management System which already includes components for Health, Safety, Environment and Quality. CCP considers ANSI/MSE 2000:2008 as the framework for a sustainable energy management system to provide triple bottom line economic, environmental and societal benefits. CCP continues to improve their Energy Intensity Index, eco-efficiency footprint and their global competitiveness. This systematic and collaborative approach can serve as a model for other small to medium size industrial firms.