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Global Energy Efficiency Challenge is Spearheaded by the US

By Daniel Stouffer

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 03Sep2010 Word count: 594 Viewed: 211 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

A variety of forward thinking initiatives have been created as a result of the Global Energy Efficiency Challenge, which was launched recently by the United States government. Some of these initiatives are very diverse and niche related, while others aim to promote education and action in the mainstream market. Many of these initiatives were launched at the Clean Energy Ministerial which took place recently in Washington DC. According to the US Department of Energy, significant investments have been made in energy efficiency across the board in recent years. Many of these initiatives focus on building efficiency, which is estimated to account for as much as 60% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide each year. The DOE has pushed for these initiatives and has invested funds for the certification of technicians, inspectors, operators and auditors and has also allocated research grants.

A variety of forward thinking initiatives have been created as a result of the Global Energy Efficiency Challenge, which was launched recently by the United States government. Some of these initiatives are very diverse and niche related, while others aim to promote education and action in the mainstream market. Many of these initiatives were launched at the Clean Energy Ministerial which took place recently in Washington DC.

One of the most significant initiatives to come out of the Clean Energy Ministerial is the Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership (GSEP). This partnership involves a three-pronged approach to efficiency improvements in commercial buildings and industrial facilities. As some criticism was aimed at the United States by other countries that participated in the Copenhagen energy Summit, the recently announced Global Energy Efficiency Challenge, which is spearheaded by the US government is bound to be welcome news. A number of other countries have signed on to support the project and become part of the partnership and these countries combined represent more than 80% of energy consumption, worldwide.

One of the primary goals of the GSEP is to develop a certification process to make sure that energy efficiency improvements are meaningful and sustainable. The companies that are participating in the pilot program will need to adopt an energy management system and establish baseline energy performance. They must also undertake a process to ensure that efficiency improvements in the future are done in accordance with approved protocols and have been subjects to independent validation. Many large companies including Wal-Mart and Target, which combined represent some of the largest retail outlets in the world, have committed to dedicate staff solely to the implementation of partnerships created under the Global Energy Efficiency Challenge. The staff will in turn ensure that employees within the organization are trained on the program. Participating companies will upload their findings to a centralized database, where the data will be made available as generic sector benchmarks.

The companies selected to take part in the GSEP represent commercial buildings, retail operations, industrial facilities, public buildings and educational settings and the information collected from their operations will be made available as application specific case studies. Once feedback has been obtained, the actual certification process itself will be finalized and will be launched for adoption across the board. The GSEP pilot project is so popular that is has a waiting list of companies that are ready and willing to participate. The GSEP partnership and the Global Energy Efficiency Challenge are further reminders that every organization needs to be fully aware of its relative efficiency. The popularity of this program is a strong indicator of the impact that energy efficiency initiatives have on a company's reputation and the proactive stance organizations are trying to take.

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