Thanksgiving is just a few days away, and we are all excited about having family and friends together for the celebration. Besides the amazing food, the magical Macy’s Day parade and the four day weekend, Thanksgiving is an Alliance favorite because it’s the least energy consuming holiday!

In anticipation of the big day, we’re taking a moment to reflect on milestones and accomplishments achieved by the Energy 2030 initiative and the opportunities we’ll have once we've achieved the goal of doubling U.S. energy productivity.   

What Has Been Achieved

The Energy 2030 campaign has come a long way since the Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy was created in 2012. The Commission’s goal was to identify solutions for increasing the U.S. energy productivity and improving the economy. Based on the findings of their initial research reports, the Commission worked under the leadership of Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) and National Grid President Tom King to identify the most impactful bipartisan energy policy solutions to double energy productivity by 2030. Energy 2030, a set of energy policy recommendations that have the potential to increase the economic output received from each unit of energy, was launched the following year.

As part of the Energy 2030 initiative, the Alliance launched Energy 2030 On the Road, an education, outreach and action campaign aimed at informing communities and states about policies and programs that can help the nation achieve the goal of doubling energy productivity. So far, the On the Road events have engaged with seven key communities and states, including Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Washington and Forth Worth, Texas.

Throughout these stops, the Alliance has engaged with elected officials, civic leaders, business owners and other organizations and garnered over 100 endorsements of the campaign goal from a wide range of influential organizations.

There’s A Lot More To Be Thankful For

Recently, industry leaders kicked-off Accelerate Energy Productivity 2030, a partnership between the Alliance, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Council on Competitiveness to increase our nation’s energy productivity. This new partnership will co-create new pathways to build upon what has been accomplished to date with Energy 2030 and other pre-existing partner efforts.

Although our productivity has been increasing through these initiatives, we’ll have even more to be thankful for once the campaign’s ultimate goal is achieved. Achieving the goal of doubling energy productivity by 2030 would save the U.S. $327 billion a year, add 1.3 million jobs and cut carbon emissions by 33 percent.

It also means that the average American family could save over $1,000 per year on electricity bills. Energy consumers across the U.S. could use those savings to treat family and friends to a full Thanksgiving feast each year for more than twenty years. Now that’s something to be thankful for!

We're Grateful For Your Support

More than anything, we’re thankful for your support in helping us achieve so much to date. We’re excited about what can be accomplished in the coming year and we will undoubtedly have even more to be thankful for by the time Thanksgiving 2015 comes around.