In an exciting development in December, I was able to witness the Alliance to Save Energy’s Energy Hog mascot receive the Silver Award in the Smart Jobs and Consumers category during Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Energy Smart Communities Initiatives (ESCI) Awards Ceremony, underscoring the mascot’s effectiveness in providing energy efficiency education for youth around the country.

At the event, I was able to speak to the working committee’s assembled group about the Energy Hog program’s origins as a partnership between the Ad Council, U.S. Department of Energy and the Alliance to Save Energy. I outlined the successes of the initiative following the initial 2006 campaign, which originated as a print and television advertisement. Since its adoption by the Alliance, the Energy Hog has served as an energy “super villain” within the Alliance’s education programs, helping to drive energy efficient behaviors, writing campaigns and efficiency competitions. Appearing at events and school assemblies across the country—from Alaska to California and Tennessee to New Jersey—he has delighted and inspired students across the country to save energy. The Energy Hog makes energy a tangible, easy-to-understand concept. He represents the “face of waste” and motivates students to learn about energy principals and best practices in energy efficiency so that they can become “Energy Hog Busters”. Most of all—students love him!

The ESCI Awards ceremony recognized distinguished individuals and programs from around the entire Pacific Rim focused on energy intensity reduction, sustainable development and long-term job creation. Awards are made in four main ESCI pillars: Smart Transportation, Smart Buildings, Smart Grids and Smart Jobs and Consumers – as well as a special category for Low Carbon Model Towns. In addition to the four main categories of award winners, the ceremony included examples of two low-carbon model Japanese towns.

In addition to the Energy Hog Program, award winners included Intelligent Transportation Services (Chinese Taipei), and Car-Free Days (Republic of Korea), energy conservation programs at Richmond Convention Hotel (Thailand) and a Green Hospital (Thailand), Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (US), Smart Micro-grid Demonstration Park (Chinese Taipei) and the Energy Efficiency Training Program (Australia).

The Alliance to Save Energy is delighted to be recognized by this distinguished group, and extends congratulations to all of the winners. For more information about the 2015 ESCI Awards, please see their website.