Energy Efficiency Needed to Meed Energy Needs, Reduce Costs, and Cut Emissions

With President Obama’s climate action plan addressing the government as the largest energy consumer in the U.S. and calling on federal leadership in energy efficiency, a new survey of federal agency purchasing decision makers shows 74 percent agree energy efficiency is among the most powerful means of meeting increasing energy needs, achieving cost savings and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Zogby International survey was sponsored by the Alliance to Save Energy and Schneider Electric.

The independent survey of 204 government leaders asked participants a variety of questions relating to energy efficiency within their agencies including the importance of energy efficiency and progress towards goals, main drivers for improving energy efficiency, and challenges and obstacles.  Specific findings from the survey include:

Importance and Progress:

• A vast majority (87 percent) say energy is important to fulfilling their agency’s core mission.
• 56 percent of respondents say their current culture encourages energy efficiency.
• 29 percent consider energy efficiency among the agency’s top five priorities, with 36 percent listing it as a second tier priority.
• The majority of respondents grade their progress on meeting energy efficiency mandates at a B (38 percent) or C (31 percent) level, with only 6 percent grading their agency’s efforts at the A level.

Main Drivers:

• Cost savings (45 percent)
• Environmental benefits (17 percent)
• Federal law and policy (12 percent)

Challenges and Obstacles:

• 70 percent of those surveyed believe the current economic environment and potential tightening of their agency’s budget affects their ability to pursue energy efficiency projects.
• The top obstacles to meeting energy efficiency goals include:
• Lack of funding (37 percent)
• Organizational barriers, such as procedures (20 percent)
• Lack of internal enthusiasm to execute (18 percent)

“It’s no secret that energy is essential to the core missions of federal agencies.  However, that energy is costly, placing a significant burden on agency budgets and a sizeable footprint on the environment through greenhouse gas and other emissions,” said Ellen Kotzbauer, segment manager, U.S. Federal Government, Schneider Electric. “Energy efficiency can play a key role in enabling agencies to be better stewards of the environment and taxpayer dollars, which would in turn lower costs and reduce emissions. These survey results show that the majority of agency leaders recognize this and are working diligently to increase energy efficiency to achieve their mission and lead by example to secure our nation’s energy future.”

“As the nation’s largest energy user, I’m encouraged to learn that the majority of federal agency decision-makers value energy efficiency as the fastest, cheapest, and cleanest way to meet their energy needs,” said Kateri Callahan, president of the Alliance to Save Energy.  “However, despite being viewed favorably, support and tools to implement energy efficiency measures are sorely lacking.  The federal government needs to invest in energy efficiency so that agencies can cut waste, become more productive, and save taxpayers money.”

Additional findings from the survey point to progress made on the use of private sector financing to overcome capital constraints, facility auditing and metering, and areas of focus to improve energy efficiency initiatives moving forward:

• Leveraging private sector financing to achieve efficiency goals: 14 percent of respondents say their agency has entered into an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) or utility energy savings contract (UESC) following the 2011 White House Memorandum, which expires at the end of 2013. Thirty percent plan to enter into an ESPC/UESC before the end of 2013.
• Facility auditing and metering: 32 percent say their agency or site has audited/metered most facilities in order to understand energy consumption trends. Just 12 percent have audited all facilities, and 11 percent have not audited any facilities.
• Changing human behaviors: 46 percent believe “changing human behaviors” is the most important solution for helping federal agencies achieve energy efficiency goals.
• Vulnerability to Power Disruptions: Just over seven in ten (71 percent) say their agency or facility is vulnerable to power disruptions that would impact mission effectiveness due to their dependency on the commercial electrical grid.

The survey of 204 U.S. federal agency decision makers with purchasing authority was conducted from July 8-11, 2013. The margin of error is +/- 7.0 percentage points. Kateri Callahan, president, Alliance to Save Energy and Jeff Sherman, director, Federal Energy Solutions, Schneider Electric, will discuss the survey findings during a media breakfast event at the World Energy Engineering Congress in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, September 25, 2013 from 8-9 a.m. ET.

The full survey is available here.

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About the Alliance to Save Energy

The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental, and consumer leaders who promote the efficient and clean use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, the economy and national security. For more information, please visit www.ase.org.

About Schneider Electric

As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in Utilities & Infrastructure, Industries & Machines Manufacturers, Non-residential Building, Data Centers & Networks and in Residential. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green, the company's 140,000 plus employees achieved sales of 30.8 billion US dollars (24 billion euros) in 2012, through an active commitment to help individuals and organizations make the most of their energy. https://www.schneider-electric.com/us