The past decade has witnessed a transformation of our energy system, driven by advances in connectivity and the prevalence of electrified devices, distributed renewables, and energy storage. Today, we can control not only how much energy is consumed, but when and where, offering tremendous potential to optimize energy consumption across an increasingly integrated and dynamic energy system. 

But innovation is outpacing industry response. Stakeholders have competing visions for the future; policymakers and regulatory commissions are working with lagging regulatory and incentive structures; and most consumers lack the ability or access to take advantage of these new opportunities.

As energy efficiency enters the digital age, we must coalesce around a shared vision that integrates well-established energy efficiency approaches with the capabilities of smart and connected technologies, distributed energy resources, and key decarbonization strategies. We call this Active Efficiency.

Active Efficiency optimizes the use of energy by integrating the benefits of traditional energy efficiency measures with the opportunities presented by digital technologies.

To take full advantage of this critical moment, we’ve brought together the Active Efficiency Collaborative. The Collaborative is a community of industry leaders, NGOS, and public sector institutions working to accelerate the adoption of Active Efficiency, which encompasses these new innovations working alongside traditional methods. It does this by deepening collaboration among stakeholders, cultivating champions, and developing strategies and policies to scale up Active Efficiency at federal, state, and local levels.