Corporate Investment in Energy Efficiency ‘At an All-Time High’ - by Joe Romm

A major new survey reveals planned corporate investment in energy efficiency measures here and around the world is at its highest level ever.  And that means the trend of decoupling economic growth from energy consumption will continue, especially in this country.

It also means that cutting carbon pollution sharply will indeed be as super-cheap as all of the independent analyses have been saying for years.

Johnson Controls’ recent Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey of over “1,200 facility and energy management executives in the United States, Brazil, China, Germany and India shows interest and investment in energy efficiency are at an all-time high.”  Johnson Controls reports that half of the respondents said their companies are “paying more attention to energy efficiency” today compared to a year ago.

Perhaps more significant, 72 percent of global respondents expect to increase investments in energy efficiency and onsite renewables over the next year — whereas only 42 percent expected such an increase in 2013.  For China and India, a whopping 85 percent and 89 percent of respondents expect to increase investments.

Here are some other key findings:

• 42 percent of organizations are willing to pay a premium to lease space in a certified green building versus 15 percent in 2013.
• 62 percent of organizations said they are very or extremely likely to have one or more facilities able to operate off the grid in the next ten years.
• 80 percent of organizations plan to achieve nearly zero, net zero or positive energy status for at least one of their facilities versus 49 percent in 2013.

While reducing business costs is still the top driver of efficiency investments, companies’ investment decisions are “increasingly considering” factors such as “customer and employee attraction, greenhouse gas reduction, enhanced reputation, government policy and investor expectations when making investment decisions.”

Specifically, Johnson Controls found that 64 percent of American companies “now have an internal or publicly stated carbon reduction goal, compared to 41 percent in 2013.” 

Corporate Investment in Energy Efficiency ‘At an All-Time High’