Energy Exchange

Three Ways to Boost Energy Efficiency after the “Low-Hanging Fruit” has been Picked

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 1, 2014

By: Lana Zaman, graduate student at UC Berkeley

2014berkeleyfellowsCompanies today are increasingly investing in energy efficiency upgrades, both to conserve energy and to reduce operating costs. By lowering greenhouse gas emissions and fuel expenses, energy efficiency benefits the economy as well as the environment in the face of climate change. Being from Bangladesh, a country that is on a trajectory to become completely submerged as sea levels rise, climate change is an important issue to me and is largely the reason why I joined EDF Climate Corps.

Before I began my fellowship, I asked myself: When there exists a seemingly obvious solution to current energy challenges, why aren’t more companies investing in these solutions? What is holding the private sector back from pursuing initiatives that not only save the company money, but can also contribute to mitigating climate change? Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy Efficiency / Comments are closed

Companies Turn to Technology to Engage Consumers in Smart Energy Management

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 1, 2014

By: Claire Dooley, student at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management

claire_dooley_blog_0Most of us in America would argue that affordable and reliable energy access is a basic life necessity, possibly even a basic human right. However, JD Power & Associates recently reported that only 3% of consumers are actually reviewing their energy usage more than once a month. Interaction with this commodity is almost entirely passive. Utilities do whatever it is they do to keep the electrons flowing, and we pay the bill.

With all of the public attention that energy’s impact on climate change has received in recent months—including IPCC findings that human-induced global warming is unequivocal and a new EPA regulation on coal-fired power plants—consumer awareness and interest in curbing our reliance on dirty energy is on the rise. Concurrently, the massive influx of residential clean energy technologies is providing unprecedented opportunity for the public to participate in climate change solutions. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Grid Modernization / Tagged | Read 1 Response

Clean Energy Conferences Roundup: October 2014

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 1, 2014

Source National Retail Federation FlickrEach month, the Energy Exchange rounds up a list of top clean energy conferences around the country. Our list includes conferences at which experts from the EDF Clean Energy Program will be speaking, plus additional events that we think our readers may benefit from marking on their calendars.

Top clean energy conferences featuring EDF experts in October:

Oct 2: 2014 Energy Competition Symposium, Columbus, OH
Speaker: Cheryl Roberto, Associate Vice President, Clean Energy

  • The future of competitive retail and wholesale energy markets, product innovations for retail customers, and improving the shopping experience for consumers are among the larger themes to be explored at the Retail Energy Supply Association’s 2014 Energy Competition Symposium, a half-day event exploring the leading issues affecting retail energy competition nationally.

Oct 6-7: 2014 Utility Environmental Benchmarking Forum, Charlotte, NC
Speaker: Cheryl Roberto, Associate Vice President, Clean Energy

  • Since 2010, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has hosted the Forum which has provided a platform for the electric utility industry to benchmark their performance on environmental metrics. Now, TVA and Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) are teaming up to ensure the Environmental Benchmarking Forum will continue for years to come. Discussion topics include environmental performance measures and data, lessons learned from leading utility companies and energy providers, and sustainability programs, profitability, and effective implementation. Read More »
Posted in Clean Energy, Conference Roundup / Comments are closed

The Business-Policy Nexus: The Next Frontier for Corporate Sustainability Leadership

By EDF Blogs / Published: September 24, 2014

By: Tom Murray, Vice President, Corporate Partnerships Program

As we approach the 25-year anniversary of EDF’s work with the corporate sector, it’s an opportune time to reflect on our successes and plan for the work ahead.

 

Corporate Leadership graph v3

Over the years we have worked with McDonalds, Walmart, FedEx, KKR and many others to integrate sustainability into their operations, strategy, and supply chain management.  Together, we have kick-started market transformations in sectors including fast food, shipping, retail, private equity and commercial building energy efficiency.  While we’ve made great strides, there remains a huge distance to go in order to fully protect our natural resources, clean up our dirty energy system, and turn the corner on global greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Looking ahead, the opportunity and need for more aggressive private sector leadership has never been greater.  Moving from environmental progress today to full scale solutions tomorrow will require a new type of corporate leadership. This next step will require a willingness to align corporate sustainability operations, strategy AND policy. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Renewable Energy / Read 1 Response

Changing Light Bulbs Can Mean a Wealth of Energy Savings

By EDF Blogs / Published: September 5, 2014

By: Karunakaren MH, student at the Thunderbird School of Global Management

edfcc - led light bulbsA few months ago, I traveled halfway across the world from the bright, hot tropical beaches of south-east Asia into a gloomy, chilly Chicago summer to begin my journey as an EDF Climate Corps fellow. A week before I started at Associated Materials, a thunderstorm flooded the entire ground floor of the corporate office, and the place needed to be completely restored. What a cliché! Because of how quickly they recovered, I arrived at the office knowing that its resilience to adversity and commitment to energy efficiency goals would mean I had a great summer ahead of me.

Associated Materials (AMI) is a vertically integrated company in the exterior building products industry with 11 manufacturing locations and over 120 distribution centers catering to the North American market. It spends about $15 million annually on energy utilities and, this summer, hired two EDF Climate Corp fellows to look for opportunities to reduce energy costs. I worked on the manufacturing locations and my colleague, Vinnakota Krishna, looked at the supply centers. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy / Tagged | Comments are closed

Clean Energy Conferences Roundup: September 2014

By EDF Blogs / Published: September 1, 2014
Source: National Retail Federation Flickr

Source: National Retail Federation Flickr

Each month, the Energy Exchange rounds up a list of top clean energy conferences around the country. Our list includes conferences at which experts from the EDF Clean Energy Program will be speaking, plus additional events that we think our readers may benefit from marking on their calendars.

Top clean energy conferences featuring EDF experts in September:

Sept 4-5: Energy Policy Research Conference, San Francisco, CA
Speaker: Jamie Fine, Senior Economist

  • Energy Policy Institute’s (EPI) 4th Annual Energy Policy Research Conference (EPRC) is the premier energy policy research conference held in the Western United States. EPI is thrilled to welcome Dr. Steven Chu as the Keynote Speaker for the event! This conference is for you if you are seeking to present or discuss energy policy research with participants and panelists from academia, think-tanks and research institutes, NGOs, national laboratories, industry, and government. Read More »
Posted in Clean Energy, General / Comments are closed