Below are resources designed to be helpful to those developing public sector energy management programs. Each link is listed with a brief description to help you determine whether it might be of interest. 

Rationale and Strategies for Public Sector Programs

Assessing Savings Opportunities

Managing Risk in Projects

Public Sector Training

Rationale and Strategies for Public Sector Programs

• Energy Charter Secretariat. 2008. "Energy Efficiency in the Public Sector: Policies and Programmes in ECT Member Countries." Energy Charter Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Related Environmental Aspects PEEREA. April, 2008. 

This report represents a review devoted specifically to public sector energy efficiency at all levels of government for the Protocol on Energy Efficiency and Related Environmental Aspects (PEEREA) member countries. It examines what is known about the potential for energy savings in the public sector, where the potential lies, and how governments can capture it. Energy efficiency issues and typical measures are described for public buildings, transportation, utilities ranging from public lighting to heat providers, and other facilities. The Policies and Instruments section covers cross-cutting energy efficiency programmes, procurement, facilities construction and retrofitting, operations and maintenance, utility management, and capacity development programmes. The review also provides lessons learned in each area of activity and identifies particular areas that could be further pursued by the PEEREA Working Group of the Energy Charter.

The Energy Charter and the PEEREA entered into force in April 1998. A specialized Working Group involving 51 countries was subsequently established as a forum for dialogue and exchange of information among the participating countries. PEEREA carries out country reviews and studies on specific areas of interest to its members.

• Van Wie McGrory, L. et al. 2006. "Two Paths to Transforming Markets Through Public Sector Energy Efficiency: Top Down Versus Bottom Up." In Proceedings, 2006 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Washington, DC: American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. 

This paper outlines the evolution of PEPS government purchasing initiatives in Mexico and China and demonstrates the need for flexibility in designing energy-efficiency strategies in the public sector. Several years of pursuing a top-down (federally led) strategy in Mexico produced few results. It was not until the program was restructured in 2004 to focus on municipal-level purchasing that the program gained momentum. By contrast, the PEPS purchasing initiative in China was successfully initiated and led at the central government level with strategic support from international experts. The very different success trajectories in these two countries provide valuable lessons for designing country-specific public sector energy efficiency initiatives.

• Harris, J. et al.2005. "Public Sector Leadership: Transforming the Market for Efficient Products and Services." In Proceedings, ECEEE 2005 Summer Study. Paris: ADEME Editions.
   
• International Workshop on Government Energy Management - Beijing, 22-23 September 2003.
  
  This workshop on government sector energy efficiency provided an opportunity for dialogue and sharing of experiences between Chinese officials and leading experts from other countries on ways to improve energy efficiency in government facilities and operations. The workshop identified important issues and practical next steps to improve energy efficiency in government procurement, in the design and construction of new buildings, and in the operation of existing facilities. Available files include a workshop summary and copies of the presentations.
   
• The PROST Project. 2003. Harnessing the Power of the Public Purse.
  
  This report gives an extensive overview of European public sector programs. It provides suggestions for how best to deploy and utilize these programs to optimize their role as a policy tool for achieving broader European energy conservation goals.
   
• Van Wie McGrory, L. et al. 2002. "Market Leadership by Example: Government Sector Energy Efficiency in Developing Countries." In Proceedings, 2002 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings. Washington, DC: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. 
  
  This paper makes a compelling argument for the presence of public sector initiatives as both a direct savings tool and a policy mechanism to help pull the market toward greater energy efficiency. It also provides a survey of existing known national government energy conservation programs in developing and transitional economies.
   
• Borg, N. et al. 1998. "Energy Management in the Government Sector - An International Review." Berkeley, CA. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. LBNL-40403. 
  
  An informal survey compiled information on government sector energy management programs for 25 countries in Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. This paper summarizes the results and discusses some of the factors that appear to distinguish countries with more comprehensive government sector programs from those with few or no efforts to date. It also suggests approaches for getting a new program started.
   

Assessing Savings Opportunities
 

• PEPS Energy Savings Tool (EST)

This Microsoft Excel spreadsheet application is designed to help estimate the energy, money, and air pollutant emissions savings from energy-efficient purchasing programs for lighting and office equipment products.

• Estimate of China's energy savings potential (in English)

China's government energy-efficiency procurement program, launched in 2005, required preferential purchasing of a range of energy-efficient products. Given the size of the government sector, with over 10 million employees and covering over 400,000,000 m2 of floor space, the potential for savings was large. This report estimates the technical potential for energy and cost savings from implementation of the policy nationally.

• Chinese survey of energy consumption in government buildings (in English)

This survey, developed jointly by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Chinese Certification Center for Energy Conservation Products (CECP), was used to garner information on the use of energy and awareness of energy efficiency options by Chinese government building operators. We provide it here in Microsoft Word format so that it can be easily customized to create a survey for other public sector entities.

• Mexican survey of government procurement (in Spanish)

This survey was developed by Mexico’s CONAE and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab to assess the purchasing practices of Mexican government procurement officials charged with buying various energy-using equipment for government buildings. Though some items address specifics of the Mexican market (such as the “Sello FIDE” product endorsement label), this survey is provided in Microsoft Word format so that it can be tailored for others’ use with little additional effort.
 

Managing Risk in Projects
 

• International Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP)

Public sector energy efficiency programs often have a special interest in measuring and verifying that expected energy savings are actually realized – for example, to make the case for continued budget allocations, to establish a basis for payments to energy service companies or other project financing entities (e.g., a revolving loan fund), or to qualify for carbon credits (or other emissions reduction credits) based on verified energy savings. Useful tools and information on measurement and verification (M&V) are available from this site, including a downloadable protocol that has been translated into ten languages.
 

Public Sector Training
 

• Association of Energy Engineers (AEE): Many of AEE's course topics, such as performance contracting and measurement and verification,  address issues of particular concern in public sector energy management. Information about AEE's Realtime Distance Learning Seminars is available on the AEE website.