Energy Champions – Lower Cost and Environmental Impact

Lead your organization on a path toward environmentally sustainable business practices by increasing bottom-line profits through energy efficiency

Series Description

The United States Energy Information Administration projects long-term price increases for both electricity and natural gas over the next 20 years. As the impacts of the recent global Climate Change Accord in Copenhagen and EPA’s recent Greenhouse Gas emission reporting requirements for large dischargers take effect, additional pressure will be placed on businesses, institutions and governments to improve their performance per unit of energy consumed.

Organizations that fail to realize the increasing strategic impact of its energy consumption practices will be at a competitive disadvantage as prices and regulations for inefficient use become additional costs.

Managers and owners are becoming increasingly aware of the potential to reduce their organization’s operating costs by indentifying energy wasting and implementing energy saving opportunities. However, most organizations do not currently have the in-house expertise to lead an effective energy efficiency initiative.

In response, the Michigan Alternative Renewable Energy Center (MAREC) at GVSU, the Michigan Manufacturers Technology Center-West, Sustainable Research Group and its partners are offering a five part program to develop energy champions by adding new tools to their portfolio of skills and to benefit their organizations.

Output/Benefits for joining the Energy Champions:

When your enterprise is running at optimal efficiency, you not only maximize your company’s use of time and resources—you can dramatically reduce its impact on the environment. The result? Lower environmental impact, measurable cost savings and a clear competitive advantage in an increasingly aggressive and environmentally conscious market. The main challenge thus becomes how to approach the unique set of issues each organization will be faced with regarding energy consumption and efficiency opportunities. The five focused sessions in our program will address this challenge. The initial sessions will focus on providing a strong foundation for an individual to identify, collect and analyze energy data. Follow on sessions will help participants determine specific actions that can be taken to reduce energy use and cost.

Targeted Participants

Energy efficiency is an innovative and profitable tool for all sectors of the economy where energy is used natural gas, electricity or other forms to manufacture a product or to deliver a service. Energy efficiency improvements will benefit all forms of enterprise; whether structured as profit or nonprofit entities. Targeted participants include individuals from:

·         Manufacturing facilities

·         Commercial/Retail enterprises

·         Institutional organizations (churches, hospitals, colleges and universities)

·         Governments (county and local municipalities)

Curriculum (Five 2-hour sessions) Start Date June 22, 2011

Session One:                      June 22^nd                                              Energy Accounting and Management Systems

Session Two:                      July 6th                                                    Energy Audits and Building Envelop

Session Three:                  July 20^th                                                  HVAC and Lighting Systems

Session Four:                     August 3^rd                                           Motors and Equipment Loads

Session Five:                      August 17^th                                        How to Create a Company/Organization-Specific Plan

Practice: Each participant will:

1. Receive supporting reference materials and energy assessment guides.

2. Identify high-priority energy efficient options for their organization.

3. Develop an energy efficiency action plan for their organization

4. Be expected to attend all five sessions to achieve full value.

The Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center-West (MMTC-West) is partnering with Grand Rapids

Community College Training Solutions to host the Energy Champions Learning Series. All sessions will

be held from 8:00 – 10:00 AM at Grand Rapids Community College Tassell M-TEC, 622 Godfrey SW,

Room 203, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Faculty

Bill Stough, Facilitator and Tavio Benetti, principle instructor, Sustainable Research Group

Cost

$275 per participate (covers all five sessions)

Register

Please contact Amy Winkler, The Right Place, Inc./MMTC-West, 616-771-0561, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it