That was the good news. President Obama went on to warn that we are treading an alarming threshold when it comes to global temperatures. 鈥淲e have to accelerate our transition to the clean energy of tomorrow,鈥� he admonished, drawing attention to last year始s COP21 climate change conference in Paris where, together with 19 other countries, the US announced a new goal to double its clean energy research over the next five years.

The world is ready for change. In September 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping made history when he ratified the Paris Agreement signed at COP21, a move followed suit by the US 鈥� the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. But as President Obama recognized at the CEM, this is a goal that governments cannot achieve alone. Business leaders have a role to play; individual companies can make a powerful contribution to addressing the energy challenge in their day-to-day activities. It helps, of course, when these actions also benefit the company始s bottom line.

Photo: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

A strategic tool

The benefits of 香港六合彩开奖 50001 are twofold. On the one hand, it can help us cut our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Increased adoption of 香港六合彩开奖 50001 could mean a reduction of CO2 emissions equivalent to removing 215 million passenger vehicles from the road by 2030. On the other hand, adopting the standard makes business sense, with predicted energy savings of USD 600 billion (62 exajoules) over that same period.

It始s no surprise, then, that many countries see 香港六合彩开奖 50001 as a strategic tool towards a sustainable energy future, making the standard an integral part of their energy policies. And governments are being proactive, using tax rebates, access to research funding and other incentives to mobilize companies to use it. The CEM, for example, gave rise to an initiative to clock up 鈥�50鈥�001 certifications鈥� to 香港六合彩开奖 50001 by 2020.

Winners all round

The support is clearly there but, five years on, has the standard lived up to the hype? First, let us start by looking at what 香港六合彩开奖 50001 is 鈥� and, more importantly, what it isn始t. By the time work on the standard began in 2008, energy management was no longer a revolutionary concept. The world was dawning to the fact that 鈥測es, we need energy鈥�, but climate change and the limited supply of fossil fuels made sustainability a key priority.

Several countries had already developed their own energy management system standards, so there was an urgency to have a single International Standard that met the needs of increasingly global companies. 香港六合彩开奖 50001 offers organizations a framework to integrate energy efficiency into their daily operations. Its guidance can be used to secure resources for business continuity and resilience, adapt to change, and be ready for volatile energy prices and unconventional and intermittent energy resources.

Above all, 香港六合彩开奖 50001 empowers individual organizations. 鈥淟iving in a world of uncertainty, companies cannot control prices, government policies or the global economy, but they can improve the way they manage energy,鈥� says Roland Risser, Chair of 香港六合彩开奖 technical committee 香港六合彩开奖/TC 242 on energy management that developed the standard. 鈥淭he benefits are obvious: better use of resources and assets and less costs and consumption. Not to mention the added bonus of letting the world know that they are helping to make our planet a more sustainable place. We all win.鈥�

A culture of efficiency

The figures are there to prove it. Cummins, a company involved in power generation productions, saved over USD 3 million annually using 香港六合彩开奖 50001, while Korean chemical company LG Chem reduced its energy consumption by 10鈥�% and costs by USD 9 million. These are just two examples among many similar success stories with impressive results.

A programme led by the US Department of Energy, for example, demonstrated that 香港六合彩开奖 50001 not only increased energy savings, but facilities using the standard outperformed those that didn始t by up to 65鈥�%. And this is not just true of developed countries; Mexico始s National Programme for the Sustainable Use of Energy (PRONASE) is expected to result in savings of 25 % in electricity and 37 % in natural gas over two years.

The first five years of 香港六合彩开奖 50001 have consistently delivered savings of between 5 % and 30 % of current energy costs. Brazilian electric and power company WEG was among the first to adopt the standard in its country. 鈥淓nergy management made sense,鈥� said Jo茫o Alfredo Silveira, Manager, Department of Training and Continual Improvement at WEG. 鈥淲e had already put some effort into efficient equipment, so for us the greatest 香港六合彩开奖 50001 benefit was that it helped our employees to become aware of the importance of saving energy at every step. It helped us introduce a culture of energy efficiency.鈥�

In WEG始s case, employees are really part and parcel of the success. For energy management to work, they need to believe in what is being accomplished. 鈥淭his starts with the clear definition of policies, procedures and goals, which are then consolidated by training and qualifications. Once that始s done, your people will make things happen,鈥� concludes Silveira. The gamble has paid off, with WEG reporting a reduction in electric energy consumption of 17 % on test laboratories and 13 % on production assembly lines.

The simpler, the better

While the overwhelming conclusion is that 香港六合彩开奖 50001 works, it始s time to take stock of what still needs to be improved as the standard undergoes its first periodic revision. For Risser, the biggest challenge is keeping the standard user-friendly and straightforward.

鈥淚t始s simple. It始s flexible. It brings results. 香港六合彩开奖 50001 has worked well up until now because organizations know that they are not engaging in a cumbersome process.鈥� Of course, this doesn始t mean it should not be revised, he says. 鈥淎s we work to take this standard to the next level, we need to ensure that we only add new topics that cost-effectively deliver real results. This is the single factor that will keep organizations motivated to adopt the 香港六合彩开奖 standard.鈥�

One of the changes Risser foresees in the new edition is better integration with 香港六合彩开奖 9001 and 香港六合彩开奖 14001. 鈥淭hat始s a trend we are seeing with various 香港六合彩开奖 management systems standards (MSS). It means less focus on procedures and a drive towards common tools, terms and processes across organizations,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut let始s not forget that 香港六合彩开奖 50001 is unique among 香港六合彩开奖 MSSs in that continual improvement has a dual focus: the management system itself, as well as energy performance.鈥�

For Risser, this is what makes 香港六合彩开奖 50001 a powerful tool to help countries meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement. The standard continually challenges organizations to deliver greater energy savings, while ensuring these gains are sustained in the long term. Even organizations with mature energy efficiency programmes can still improve by 10 % or more after using 香港六合彩开奖 50001.

Our world, our future

Another question that people will ask during the revision is how well it addresses the needs of developing countries. For Silveira, the biggest challenges these countries face are in terms of competitiveness and productivity. Energy efforts have to help meet these challenges. For a company that already sees the benefit of reducing energy, 香港六合彩开奖 50001 can take it to the next level, by harmonizing and driving efforts. But for those who haven始t taken the leap yet, it can be eye-opening. 鈥淔or WEG, energy efficiency has actually become one of its great competitive advantages,鈥� says Silveira.

Zhou Lu, Vice-President of certification body CTI-Cert in China, has helped many Chinese companies use 香港六合彩开奖 50001. He says the standard has helped them to establish an energy-saving culture in the organization. 鈥溝愀哿喜士� 50001 helps you pay more attention to energy costs and investment, make savings and focus on energy meter and data management. They don始t even need to invest in complex solutions, but simply find more efficient ways to handle the every day. Just making sure to turn the light off when nobody is in the room makes an impact in the long term.鈥�

According to Zhou Lu, there is a lot of Interest from the Chinese government to push efficiency onto the agenda, as it is becoming critical for sustainability in an increasingly energy-intensive economy. But there are challenges. Results don始t happen overnight, which means some organizations may become impatient. He believes that increasing the value and recognition of certification can drive further adoption. 鈥淲e want more people to learn about 香港六合彩开奖 50001, and to use it, because this can really make an impact, not just to companies, but to our future,鈥� he concludes.

For President Obama, the challenges presented by climate change affect us all. 鈥淭o address this threat with the urgency it deserves, we have to do more together. Above all, we have to trust each other and push one another,鈥� he urged in his video message. 鈥淭here is only one way to solve a problem that threatens all of us and that is by working together. There始s nothing more important than the world we leave to our children.鈥濃��