Energy Management Working Group
The Global Superior Energy Performance Partnership (GSEP) Energy Management Working Group will facilitate an international dialogue to share strategies and best practices to foster and accelerate energy management and continuous energy performance improvements in industrial facilities and buildings. It has three main strategic objectives:
- Increase the implementation of energy management in the industrial and buildings sectors in order to improve energy efficiency and energy performance on an ongoing basis
- Measure and verify energy performance improvements on a consistent basis
- Build a qualified workforce of professionals with expertise in the fields of energy management, energy efficiency, and measurement and verification
At the first GSEP Energy Management Working Group workshop in June 2011, participating governments agreed to launch three task forces that are focused on advancing each of the three strategic objectives. A brief description of the proposed activities for each of the task forces is as follows:
- Energy Management Task Force
- Establish a centralized sharing platform to collect and distribute information about energy management
- Develop a common energy savings and management tool set to be used throughout GSEP Energy Management Working Group countries
- Coordinate pilot programs across countries to showcase the value proposition of energy management
- Work toward national certification programs to recognize entities for compliance with an energy management system standard such as ISO 50001
- Measurement and Verification (M&V) Task Force
- Share information related to developing M&V protocols and compile best practices and inventory resources
- Design a standardized M&V protocol to be used across GSEP Energy Management Working Group countries
- Develop a voluntary reporting mechanism to share data needed to benchmark facility performance
- Qualified Workforce Task Force
- Share information related to credentialing programs, including qualification criteria, training requirements, and training materials
- Create standardized credentialing processes, including establishing uniform qualification criteria and moving toward greater harmonization of training programs across GSEP Energy Management Working Group countries
Participants
The United States leads the GSEP Energy Management Working Group, and other participating governments include Australia, Canada, Denmark, the European Commission, France, Hungary, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, and Sweden.
Participation in each of the Task Forces is as follows:
- Energy Management Task Force: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Sweden, and the United States
- M&V Task Force: Australia, Hungary, India, Japan, Korea, South Africa, and the United States
- Qualified Workforce Task Force: Australia, Japan, Korea, South Africa, and the United States
In addition, GSEP countries will pilot a certification program that requires adoption of an energy management system and continuous energy performance programs. Such a program will be piloted in commercial buildings by Cleveland Clinic, Grubb & Ellis Company, Marriott International Inc., Target Corporation, and Walmart Stores Inc.; in industrial facilities by 3M Company, Nissan, and Dow Chemical Company; in public buildings by the United States and Canada; and in an educational setting by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The U.S. GSEP pilot project is currently full, although companies may participate in other GSEP activities or indicate their interest in participating and receiving updates.
Resources
- Superior Energy Performance is a certification program that provides industrial facilities with a roadmap for achieving continual improvement in energy efficiency while maintaining competitiveness.
- To receive updates about the GSEP Energy Management Working Group, please submit your email address to notify GSEP of your interest.