Federal Government Agencies Agree Energy Efficiency is "Most Effective" Tool

Washington D.C., September 25, 2013 - A new survey of federal agency decision makers demonstrates that 74% of the agency agree energy efficiency is among the most powerful means of meeting increasing energy needs, achieving cost savings and, most importantly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The survey was sponsored by the Alliance to Save Energy and Schneider Electric. 

(The survey was conducted among 204 U.S. federal agency decision makers with purchasing authority from July 8-11, 2013. The margin of error is +/- 7.0 percentage points.)

Specific findings from the survey include:

• 87% say energy is important to fulfilling their agency's core mission.
• 29% consider energy efficiency among the agency's top five priorities, with 36% listing it as a second tier priority. 
• 56% of respondents say their current culture encourages energy efficiency.
• 70$ believe the current economic environment and potential tightening of their agency's budget affects their ability to pursue energy efficiency projects. 
• The most significant obstacles to meeting energy efficiency goals include the lack of funding (37%), organizational barriers such as procedures (20%) and a lack of internal enthusiasm to execute (18%).

Ellen Kotzbauer, segment manager, U.S. Federal Government, Schneider Electric said "It's no secret that energy is essential to the core missions of federal agencies. However, that energy is costly, placing a significant burden on agency budgets and a sizeable footprint on the environment through greenhouse gas and other emissions." Additional findings from the survey point to progress made on the use of private sector financing to overcome capital constraints, facility auditing and metering, and areas of focus to improve energy efficiency initiatives moving forward:

• Leveraging private sector financing to achieve efficiency goals:
• 14% of respondents say their agency has entered into an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) or utility energy savings contract (UESC) following the 2011 White House Memorandum, which expires at the end of 2013. 
• 30% plan to enter into an ESPC/UESC before the end of 2013.
• Facility auditing and metering:
• 32 percent say their agency or site has audited/metered most facilities in order to understand energy consumption trends. 12% have audited all facilities and 11% have nto audited any facilities. 
• Changing human behavior:
• 46% believe "changing human behaviors" is the most important solution for helping federal agencies achieve energy efficiency goals.
• Vulnerability to Power Disruptions:
• 71% say their agency or facility is vulnerable to power disruptions that would impact mission effectiveness due to their dependency on the commercial electrical grid.