BEYOND ENERGY SAVINGS: CASE STUDIES ON ENHANCING PRODUCTIVITY AND REDUCING COSTS THROUGH ENERGY EFFICIENCY INVESTMENTS

摘要

Promoting energy efficiency to corporate CEOs and CFOs based on energy savings alone has had limited success. Experience shows that energy efficiency projects' non-energy benefits often exceed the value of energy savings, so energy savings should be viewed more correctly as part of the total benefits, rather than the focus of the results. Quantifying the total benefits of energy efficiency projects helps companies understand the financial opportunities of investments in energy efficiency. Quantifying total benefits also helps get financing for energy efficiency investments because it lessens the risk to lending institutions. This paper discusses recent case studies of projects and companies that support the hypothesis that total benefits from energy efficiency and pollution prevention enhance shareholder value. As corporate CEOs and CFOs see total benefits rise, they should recognize the parallel between environmental and financial performance.