Energy Management – Trends towards holistic thinking in Management

While the notion of thinking holistically has been around for a long time, Allan Savory is one of the first to develop a step by step process for holistic decision-making. His method can be used by individuals, families, communities, organizations, businesses, government agencies -- anyone or any group that needs to make a decision.
This method first helps the decision-makers identify all the important people and resources relating to the issue at hand, especially those that are very often forgotten. The next step is to bring these elements together into a new "whole", represented by a short "statement of purpose". With this broad holistic goal in place, the group has a benchmark by which they can measure their future decisions. A subsequent testing phase reaches back to often ignored considerations to make sure that none are being forgotten.
Successful energy management goes beyond simply knowing which equipment to buy and how to properly set controls. Effectively managing the energy performance of advanced education facilities requires a holistic approach. This method takes a broader perspective and looks at the whole energy management picture, including the organizational, technical and behavioural aspects. It also requires a broad organization-wide commitment to continuously looking for ways to improve. This article outlines eight key areas critical to successful energy management, using examples and case studies from Langara's energy management program.
Organizational
1.Getting Commitment
Incorporating energy management practices in any firm or organization requires high level management support and commitment. Without it, energy saving will not be seen as an important activity or priority and any program targets, plans and initiatives will not get the required support to see them succeed. Without support of top managers, energy management will be marginalized. Senior managers require to be convinced of the business case to ensure investment of funds and also staff time in managing and conserving energy. Securing commitment from top level executives and managers in the beginning of the process will help guarantee success of such energy management initiatives.
To ensure this, obtain senior management dedication and commitment by illustrating how energy management ties in to the organization's business strategy. Energy management does offer measurable cost savings and also secures opportunities to employ students and faculty. It is also capable of positioning the organization as a one which is progressive and also making a real difference in the local community, thereby going global via its commitment.
As shown in the below chart, commitment towards energy management requires both, setting goals and objectives focusing towards activities like energy management and also skills and process alignment towards that objective:-

To ensure this commitment we need an energy policy which is a written statement of higher management's commitment to regulating energy usage and its environmental impact. It is generally a part of corporate social responsibility (CSR). For big organizations it should be about two pages long.
Further adding to the above idea an energy strategy can also be implemented which is a working and implementable document setting out how energy efficiency can be managed in an organization. It contains an action plan, which will involves understanding the current position of the organization thereby establishing the management framework.
2. The Importance of a Plan
The job of an energy management plan is to formalize the organization’s commitment towards energy management and also to develop a way to communicate this responsibility to students, staff, faculty and other stakeholders. A plan generates a framework for identifying energy efficiency opportunities and also provides a benchmark for monitoring future performance. In doing so it also clearly mentions the energy management roles and responsibilities.
A good plan gives information on energy-usage, sets goals and targets, defines energy saving avenues and covers financial evaluations of proposed actions. Apart from this, the plan should also include procedures for employing and communicating with students and staff and provide room for staff training. An efficient plan will also summarize how energy usage will be monitored, regulated and reported.
3. Integrate Energy Management into the Organization
Generally, energy management should be integrated in its entirety into multiple aspects of the organization. Initiate this by creating an understanding of the organization's operational management systems and identifying what all policies relate to energy management. Then it is required to understand how energy management adjusts into the organization's overall corporate strategy. Further exploration of opportunities linked to energy management practices along with existing courses and programs, or by looking to create new classes which will give students with first hand learning experience.
Along with the above suggestions financial tools can be used to bring energy efficiency and developing investments into the same level as all other business investments. With investor-level financial information available for energy potential, organizations can easily give assessment to energy investments. This will help to locate the fastest path forward for the overall performance of the organization.
Technical
4. Energy Projects
As technical aspects is included in all energy management programs, a need to plan strategically by identifying technical opportunities and priorities becomes important. There may be new funding sources that may become available by having a "shovel ready" list of projects which need to be turned into advantage.
Following are the steps i: Develop an understanding of your organization's current situation and energy usage.
Analyze the cost structure of your bills. Compare with that of similar organizations in the same sector and benchmark the performance . Identify when and where to use energy. Once you have collected this information, you will be able to tap savings opportunities by eliminating waste,by maximizingthe efficiency and optimizing your energy supply. You can eliminate by optimizing set points for heating and cooling, By installing occupancy sensors for lighting and HVAC systems, or optimizing schedules to reflect building occupancy patterns ii: Identifying energy saving opportunities is to optimize your supply. This means using alternative energy options:geo-exchange, heat recovery and solar opportunities. For example . The building features several of these energy alternatives. It is 71% more energy-efficient than the baseline established in Canada's National Energy Code for buildings. It features several innovative ways of saving energy in new building projects. For example, the building is naturally ventilated - five wind towers pull air upward through the building and pulling power is increased increasing wind velocity the undulating concrete roof. Air is brought by remotely-controlled windows . A geo-exchange system and water source heat pumps cool and heat the interior. Exhaust heat captures the Waste heat and the building's exposed cast-in-place concrete and high-performance glass further aid in energy transfer and storage.
5. Financial
We need to look at not only savings but also the long term value of the project while making the financial case for a retrofit or new building project. At above example, the energy management savings from a 2005 retrofit have been $70,000 per year. cost avoidance has been over $700,000 since 2005. The long term savings figures will help build a better business case for a project.
Behavioural
Technology is an important aspect of managing energy. Still, it is the people who control, utilize and save energy. Offering efficient training for key staff and finding ways to create engagement for all staff, students and faculty members in energy conservation programs is extremely important to fruitful energy management.
6. Training
An effectual way in improving energy efficiency in buildings is to offer training for those in the organization who work directly with the buildings' energy systems. Training must equip building operations personnel with the proficiencies and knowledge to properly manage and maintain equipment, to identify energy savings opportunities, and to implement operational dynamics. As well as providing them with enhanced knowledge and critical tools, by building up competencies in your staff, you enable them to take pride, and onus in the energy management program. This sense of ownership usually turns them into your organization's 'energy champion' - always on the lookout for new ways to improve efficiency and save you energy.
7. Awareness and Culture Change
Most organizations observe that engaging students, staff and faculty in energy efficiency and conservation programs is an effective, cheaper way to begin saving energy, or to support current energy practices. The task is to find out why people act the way they do, and how to best inspire them to embrace new behaviours. The most efficient awareness and behavioural change programs are the ones that capture the inventiveness of students, staff and faculty and effect widespread cultural change within the organization. The final goal is to get everyone up and running and bind the power of small daily behavioural changes. Ultimately, behaviours such as switching off lights and devices when they're not being utilized, using day lighting instead of artificial light, and wearing a sweater to stay warm instead of turning up the heat will easily be considered a habit.
Continuous Improvement
8. Monitoring, Targeting and Improving (MT&R)
A very important element of any energy management program is its setting of targets, monitoring of the developments and the reporting on energy use. For the process to go beyond just data collection proper analysis of the collected data is required to report on the savings achieved by the program and also to explore the opportunities for further energy conservation. For the key decision makers and stakeholders to take decisions in a timely manner the energy information needs to be presented in a clear and timely manner. These measures help in realizing the benefits of the program and also help in maintaining the interest of the participants of the program. This process of continuous targeting, monitoring and reporting helps in creating a culture of continuous improvement in the organization by creating the necessary feedback loops.
Holistic Thinking about Energy Management
Having a holistic approach is very important for the energy sector. It will ensure that one sets achievable goals and ensure that one creates the appropriate support systems and culture to carry out programs in energy savings. It is so important that the International Standards Organization (ISO) is in the process of approving a new standard ISO 50001 for the integration of energy management into the day to day procedures of an organization. If adopted wisely, these standards could affect 60% of the world’s energy usage pattern.

References: 1) http://prismengineering.com/ 2) Wikipedia.org 3) http://www.co-intelligence.org 4) http://www.carbontrust.com/resources/guides/energy-efficiency/energy-management 5) http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/9/prweb11105314.html