Energy becoming part of social, business strategy

Aberdeen report finds business, environmental needs merging

By PLE Staff May 11, 2009

Aberdeen Group surveyed 230 executives to understand the success companies are realizing by effectively managing energy across the enterprise. Energy management started as a cost saving initiative, but is now starting to become a strategic part of the company’s larger corporate social responsibility program.
Whether you are just implementing an energy management program or have been on this journey for many years, this report will provide insight into the business processes and technology enablers adopted by the top performers to gain quantifiable business value.
Aberdeen used three Key Performance Indicators to identify Best-in-
Class performance, with the Best-in-Class averaging:
• 90% Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)
• 15% Reduced energy consumption
• 14% Outperformance of corporate operating margin goals
Survey results show that the firms enjoying Best-in-Class performance shared several common characteristics.
• Best-in-Class companies are over three-times as likely as Laggards to invest in energy management solutions to gain real-time visibility into energy data
• Best-in-Class companies are over two-times as likely as Laggards to consider energy costs while scheduling production
• Best-in-Class companies are nearly four-times as likely as Laggards to consider energy efficiency while scheduling maintenance Required Actions
In addition to the specific recommendations in Chapter Three of this report, to achieve Best-in-Class performance, companies must:
• Include energy management in corporate-wide sustainability initiatives
• Provide real-time as well as historical energy data to appropriate employees as actionable intelligence
• Invest in automating energy management to gain visibility into energy data and integrate it with existing technology investments.
Details of the report can be found here :