VI. Barrier: Saving energy isn’t in the job description

Energy efficiency on the scale that is possible and necessary to meet the region’s growing energy needs doesn’t happen by itself, or even because a utility or government has a program to spur it along. For most people – whether at home or at work – saving energy is only one item on a long list of things to do, if it’s on the list at all.

Saving energy is rarely in anyone’s job description. It’s not surprising since the cost of energy, while controllable, generally represents only a small percentage of overall operating costs. And while saving energy adds to the bottom line just like new sales revenue, it’s usually not rewarded in the same way. When salespeople sell more, they get paid more. When a facility manager shrinks the light bill, the savings don’t necessarily stay with the facilities department. That manager might not feel so motivated the next time. And, finally – there is the boss. It’s a major barrier when saving energy isn’t a priority for the business owner or top executive.

The Solution: Leadership!

Put someone in charge! Some pioneering programs provide technical and/or financial support for dedicated energy managers in large organizations. These people are hired to be champions of energy efficiency. The best ones deliver not only near-term energy and cost savings, but long-term culture change as well.

• BC Hydro provides funds for organizations to help create a culture that promotes and supports energy efficiency. Participants create a variety of approaches within their organizations to promote saving energy: mascots (the aquarium’s “Earl the Electric Eel”), green leases, lunch-and-learns, competitions, websites, blogs and more. Pilot program results are promising — one large health-care organization reported 13% savings.
• Puget Sound Energy’s innovative Resource Conservation Manager (RCM) program saved as much electricity in 2007 as 5,500 typical homes use in a year by installing energy managers in organizations to cut energy waste from multiple angles – changing employee behavior, improving operation and maintenance practices and managing bigger improvements from lighting to heating and cooling. The program helps fund energy manager salaries for up to two years in school districts, municipalities and businesses. After that, the position has typically saved enough in energy costs to sustain the salary. PSE is experimenting with partnering with community-based organizations to house managers devoted to multiple local businesses.
• The Oregon Department of Energy and Washington State University Extension Energy Program both provide technical and networking support for resource conservation managers. Case studies show even small organizations can benefit: Oregon’s Crook County School District cut 15% off its annual utility bill—$95,373—and used the savings to restore funding for two teaching positions.

Unleash the “Green Team.” BC Hydro’s Team Power Smart works with employees of its larger customers to catalyze a culture of energy efficiency in their workplaces. After a startup training by the utility, the team of champions—people from throughout the participating organization, including an executive or two—gets the message out on goals and behavior changes, with a major emphasis on recognizing successes big and small. One participant, a small health district, reported 23% energy savings from simple changes like turning off lights and computers when not in use.

Empower the facilities managers. If you care about energy waste and you’re in a position to give your building operators a seat at the decision making table, do it. At Lake Washington School District, the facility director is part of the management team. He made a commitment that the district would be the most energy efficient in the state – and he’s making it happen. In 2007, overall energy use was down by nearly 9%; new school buildings are designed and built to be energy efficient. Rachel Carson Elementary, opened in 2008, was designed to exceed state energy code requirements by 35%, and it’s likely that its natural ventilation system will serve as a model for other new school designs.

Make saving energy and dollars a management priority. In 1995, Providence Health & Services, a Seattle-based operator of hospitals and other health facilities, created an executive level energy department to manage energy as the substantial controllable expense it is rather than the nearly invisible fixed cost it had been. With annual energy savings approaching $4 million by 2008, Providence has found what is essentially a new revenue source.

Encourage political leadership. When elected officials decide that government should lead on energy policy, they can make a big and lasting difference. For example, three decades ago the City of Seattle chose energy efficiency over nuclear power to meet City Light’s load growth. That decision spawned an energy efficiency culture and industry in the Northwest that still leads the country. More recently, when elected leaders in Oregon and Washington made commitments for their jurisdictions to be leaders in sustainability and energy efficiency, the Northwest became the leader in the number of design professionals and buildings boasting the Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design (LEED) certification.

It is critical to inform elected leaders that using less of what we already produce is far cheaper and cleaner than building new power plants or pipelines.

Change mindsets about energy. In the end, energy efficiency wins or loses based on individual choices made by all of us, the people who use energy. And changing behaviors and mindsets is never easy.

To achieve the levels of energy efficiency that leads to a clean and affordable energy future in the Pacific Northwest, energy efficiency must become the default decision—not something that requires consumers to “opt in” or requires a lot of thinking or doing.

The best way to change mindsets is to show success. And the path to success runs through the solutions presented throughout this paper. That means being a smarter consumer, fostering more creative financing, involving more trade allies, creating better codes and standards. Educating consumers about the benefits of energy efficiency and demonstrating the benefits of energy efficiency are key and we need to take every opportunity to make the case.

So, it’s a paradox. Despite decades of energy savings success, despite most energy planners and utilities recognizing energy efficiency as the cheapest, fastest and cleanest energy resource available, studies (and our experience!) show significant, untapped energy efficiency potential remains in the Pacific Northwest.

We have 30 years of energy saving experience. We have support from elected leaders in every Northwest state and in the nation’s Capitol, which means we can advance policies to accelerate efficiency. We have strong and successful regional players like the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Northwest Power and Conservation Council to continue to guide those policies and help implement them in the real world. We know more than ever about how to motivate people to make more efficient energy choices. Leaders are moving in the right direction and the popular media is finally paying its respects.

Now, it’s up to us. Let’s do it!