Five barriers to energy efficiency savings – and how smart companies can overcome them

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Barrier #3: The solutions are small and diffuse, not few and mighty. There is no single “gee whiz” step that companies can take to ensure they are reaping all the benefits of energy efficiency for their organizations. It takes time for companies to unearth where and how they can save both cash and carbon through energy efficiency. Some employees may be attracted by bigger, more appealing sustainability projects or cost savings efforts that are being considered or launched by their company. To avoid this problem, the hunt for energy efficiency savings should be institutionalized throughout companies as a continuous process, not one-off events. Energy efficiency savings should be one of the metrics that business units are evaluated on, and therefore, regularly measured and reported on.

Barrier #4: Cultural resistance within companies. As Gretchen Hancock noted, some companies hear the phrase energy efficiency and think, “Didn’t we tackle this problem in the 1970s?” In companies where innovation and excellence is the expectation and the norm, executives may believe that the “low hanging fruit” of energy efficiency is either too low-tech to consider or has been dealt with decades ago. But the fact is that energy efficiencies exist where even super bright executives might not expect to find them. Aging equipment can cause inefficiencies, new technology enables new savings and employees need to be trained and retrained on efficiency issues and practices.

Barrier #5: Those super-short ROI expectations. We all know how Wall Street expects speedy ROI for corporations across the board. As a result, public companies have a strong disincentive to invest in processes, products or technologies where recouping the costs may take anywhere from 1 to 5 years. This short-term thinking leads to short-term strategies, and serious money being left on the table

There are other ways companies can encourage energy efficiency savings. One way is to engage the supply chain and provide incentives to find the energy cuts in various ways. Another potentially powerful strategy is to use social influence and competition to ensure results – having different office locations “race” to find the biggest savings, engage local schools to help with the hunt for energy efficiency in their communities, among other things. Once we see how quickly those coins can add up, we’re all likely to join in the race.

What other powerful ideas can companies consider as they embark on the hunt for energy efficiency?