Setting Energy Efficiency Goals for the New Year

Think of your past personal resolutions that you set for yourself at the beginning of a new year. Whether your goal was losing weight, exercising more, learning another language, travelling to a new country, renovating your house, or earning an educational designation - chances are that you started off by setting a specific goal for yourself and charted a course to achieve the goal.

This same approach that we often use in our personal lives can, and does also work in improving our organisational energy efficiency.

Here are 6 reminders to get things started off on the right foot in the new year:

1. Understand your goals and objectives

A lot of the time, the terms "goals" and "objectives" are used interchangeably, but here's how you can distinguish the two and use both in your planning.

• Set a goal: the result you would like to achieve in the end
• Set objectives to support that goal: measurable results you would like to see that will help you achieve your goal. Objectives should be:
  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Attainable
  • Relevant
  • Timely
• Create tactics to help drive each of your objectives. These are the specific activities you will execute to drive your objectives, and in turn, achieve your goal.

2. Set a benchmark

If energy efficiency is a new focus, start by setting benchmarks so you have something to compare to at the end of the year (or whenever your reporting period ends).

There are usually three ways in which organisations use Energy benchmarking:

1) To measure a building's current performance against its own past performance;

2) To measure a building against other buildings in an organisation’s portfolio or

3) To comparing a building to similar buildings outside an organisation.

3. Review success in meeting previous goals

Before you set your energy efficiency goals for the new year, take some time to review how your organisation or building performed last year utilising existing reporting. How did you do, based on the energy performance and organisational goals that were set in 2020, or even the year before?

4. Design an effective energy awareness program

A good energy awareness program will take time, but once you have a program in place, you and your organisation can work to engage people around energy management. Designing an energy awareness program involves understanding who you're trying to engage and why they should want to be involved. Learn more about designing an effective energy awareness program, and start your annual plan.

5. Walk the energy management talk

Certified Energy Managers have gone through the training and have the know-how to implement energy management best practices. Having the know-how is only step one. Next year, focus on walking the energy management talk by living by those best practices in the workplace and at home. CEM Trainer, Emily Thorn Corthay breaks down how you can set the right example at home and within your community.

6. Focus on learning new skills to apply to your organisation

There are different skills to be learned depending on the sector of energy efficiency you work within. The good news is there are lots of learning opportunities for you no matter which sector your work in (or aim to work within). Investing time in your own professional development can help you build up an impressive resume, plus you'll bring a valuable toolbox of skills to your orgnisation. Use CIET's Learning Path guide to find programs for your career path and sector.