Energy Management Goes Strategic?An Operations-Only Issue No More

Price-per-unit used to be the only factor in a company’s energy purchase and use decisions. But extreme price volatility, new regulatory requirements, formal adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, environmental concerns, and concerns about secure energy supplies also play a role. Today, energy affects overall corporate planning, including risk management, sustainability, facilities planning, product pricing, and product development. For any energy efficiency initiative to succeed, organizations need to implement a corporate-wide program. Some companies have found that the best way to get buy-in from senior management is to use the Six Sigma process when evaluating energy projects.