The Ecova Blueprint - Total Energy and Sustainabiliity Management

THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT : WHITEPAPER
™

Your guide to developing a proactive, strategic and actionable
Total Energy & Sustainability Management (TESM) plan.

Ecova, Inc.
February 2013

THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT: WHITEPAPER

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS
THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT ™ : WHITEPAPER

1

DRIVERS OF TOTAL ENERGY &
SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT

2

1. COST MANAGEMENT

2

2. RESOURCE SCARCITY

3

3. BRAND PERCEPTION

5

4. INVESTOR EXPECTATIONS

6

6. PHYSICAL RISK

7

THE DRIVERS OF TOTAL ENERGY &
SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
(TESM) ARE REAL: WHAT DO YOU DO?
THE BLUEPRINT KEYSTONES:
A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE DETAILS

8
9

KEYSTONE ONE: DATA

9

KEYSTONE T WO: PEOPLE

11

KEYSTONE THREE: INFRASTRUCTURE

13

KEYSTONE FOUR: MARKETING/REPORTING

15

ESTABLISHING BLUEPRINT SUCCESS

17

THE BLUEPRINT IS FOR EVERYONE

18

THE BLUEPRINT JOURNEY INFOGRAPHIC

20

THE BLUEPRINT FRAMEWORK INFOGRAPHIC

21


THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT ™: WHITEPAPER
Your guide to developing a proactive, strategic and actionable Total Energy &
Sustainability Management (TESM) plan.
The corporate appetite for the establishment of sustainable business practices over the past
several decades can be best described as a journey. Sustainability programs and solutions
investments made a strong showing during the late 1990s and early 2000s before the worst
of the economic meltdown forced companies to reevaluate. As a result, some altogether
dropped the “green” effort, some chose to focus exclusively on the lowest-hanging fruit to
drive immediate efficiency gains, and some remained “all in,” cementing green as core to
their brand and competitive differentiation strategy.
When the bottom fell out, businesses in virtually every industry were
forced to grapple with hard questions about necessity, and necessity
was dictated by topline sales and profits. Some executives began
questioning the legitimacy of the effort toward “greening” their
businesses, writing it off as a fad, a marketing and PR mirage that had
no roots to hold it down in the flood of the recession. In hindsight,
there’s a lot of irony in that reactionary mindset. Those companies that
doubled down on efficiency investments in recent years have enjoyed
the rewards of reduced operational costs, an investment strategy
that proved important to surviving a drawn-out dismal economy. As
businesses dig their way out of trenches built to provide cover from
the economic storm, they’re quickly returning to the fundamentals of
sustainability, albeit in some cases with entirely new motivation. It’s
increasingly clear that green isn’t a fad or a luxury that feeds good
fodder to the marketing and PR departments; it’s a must have.

Drivers of Corporate
Energy Management &
Sustainability Initiatives
1. Cost Management
2. Resource Scarcity
3. Brand Perception
4. Investor Expectation
5. Regulatory Changes
6. Physical Risks

To understand why that is, it’s first necessary to gather a holistic
understanding of the drivers of sustainability and how those drivers
affect business. When those drivers are understood, it becomes
abundantly clear that the development of a holistic strategy toward energy and sustainability management
establishes a direct route to measurable business—and social—benefits.
In this paper, we’ll explore the drivers of corporate energy management and sustainability initiatives, using current
data that establishes a clear case for investment. We’ll then present the THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT—a tool designed
to guide the approach to Total Energy and Sustainability Management (TESM) in any business—based on more
than a decade of financial, energy, environmental, and organizational metrics and analysis at Ecova.
Let’s start by looking at the fundamental drivers of corporate energy management and sustainability initiatives
in today’s business environment.

PAGE 1 | © 2013 ECOVA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.


DRIVERS OF TOTAL ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT
1. COST MANAGEMENT
While there’s an altruistic bent to the terms “green,” “sustainability,” and “energy
management,” they also—and perhaps more importantly—enable clearly defined and
substantial financial benefits. In a business environment where investment decisions are
made almost exclusively on their promised ROI, the low- and no-cost opportunities to
save energy, water, and waste costs via sustainability initiatives present businesses with
very low-hanging fruit that, when picked, create significant opportunity for measurable
COST
savings. Some of these steps are sufficiently simple that they rarely require capital
MANAGE MENT
resources beyond that which is already budgeted; steps that combat fluctuating and inevitably rising resource
costs. For example:
■■ Installation of programmable thermostats; when temperature settings

are adjusted appropriately for just 8 hours a day, a business facility can
save as much as 10% on its annual heating and cooling bills (see the
Programmable Thermostat Savings Calculator at www.energystar.gov).
■■ Replacement of standard fluorescent and incandescent light bulbs with

next-generation CFL (compact fluorescent), LED (light emitting diode)
and improved halogen bulbs. Depending on the size and scope of the
business, according to energystar.gov, more than 35% of commercial
electricity expenses go toward lighting; CFL bulbs are up to 75% more
energy efficient than traditional incandescent lighting.

20-30%

Most businesses can
expect total utility savings
of 20-30% from intelligent
TESM investments.

While the end value of taking initial steps like these is industry specific and market dependent, most businesses
can expect total utility savings of 20% to 30% from intelligent TESM investments. Considering that utility costs
typically fall somewhere among the top three corporate operating expenses for any business, these savings are
substantial, running into the millions of dollars for some companies.
That said, the real beauty of energy management savings is that they’re virtually infinite through ongoing
refinement when made part of a dedicated TESM strategy. The initial steps illustrated above mark the beginning
of a long-term process of project identification, prioritization, and investment.



It’s important to note here that change management becomes central to savings sustainment and a key driver
of continuous gain. For example:

EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE ACTION IN SUPPORT OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT
MANAGMENT ACTION

OUTCOME

Staff education and updates to operating
protocols

Help ensure that new infrastructure and operational techniques
are deployed effectively and consistently across an organization,
maximizing efficiency gains

Soliciting input and ideas for resource
savings from front-line employees

Yields new savings opportunities grounded in the reality of day-to-day
operations routines.

Allows the organization to assess project impact and more
Performing measurement and verification
knowledgeably evaluate future investment opportunities and
of completed projects
deployment strategies.

As new facilities come online, these simple measures and refined approaches to resource efficiency—combined
with the addition of new technologies that are in constant development—create continuous opportunity and more
dynamic value for TESM. The adoption of a holistic TESM strategy, achieved through the THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT
illustrated below, provides a FRAMEWORK for businesses to capitalize on these opportunities, and as we’ll outline
in the next section, proactive management of energy and resources has become an absolute strategic necessity for
21st century businesses.

2. RESOURCE SCARCITY
A recent, comprehensive report from the McKinsey
Global Institute illustrates the unprecedented natural
Global water prices in 2011 were up 200%
resource tipping point we face and pragmatically
year-over-year. At the same time, the pace
defines the business cost of resource scarcity. When
of development in emerging markets
placed in the context of history, it becomes clear that
the resource crisis businesses are faced with is not
has created a 600%-2,000% increase in
a dilemma we’ll face in the future, but a challenge
demand for natural resources.
we’re already struggling with. According to its report
Resource Revolution: Meeting the world’s energy,
materials, food, and water needs, the cost of natural resources such as energy, food, water, and manufacturing
materials all fell or remained flat throughout the 20th century, albeit not without periods of volatility (i.e. energy
market volatility in the 1970s). This cost consistency supported economic growth in the process. Over the course
of the past ten years, however, all those price declines that occurred in the previous century were eliminated.
Consider that on average, global water prices in 2011 were up 200% year-over-year. At the same time, the pace of
development in emerging markets has created a 600% to 2,000% increase in demand for natural resources.
The implications for businesses are simple and clear; fewer resources—coupled with a rapidly growing global
appetite for them—results in unprecedented competition for commodity resources that will further drive up
their costs.



The McKinsey Global Institute report authors express the business impact of resource allocation restrictions in
no uncertain terms and implore private enterprise to respond as follows:
For much of the 20th century, private-sector companies have been able to plan their strategies and
business models on the (often implicit) assumption that the implications for real costs of resource
prices would be constant or fall. As a result, they have tended to focus on raising labor and capital
productivity, given the increasing cost of labor and competition for capital. However, companies now
need to increase their strategic and operational focus on resource productivity. Companies that succeed
in improving their resource productivity are likely to develop a structural cost advantage; improve their
ability to capture new growth opportunities, especially in resource-scarce, rapidly growing developing
markets; and reduce their exposure both to resource- and environment-related interruptions to their
business and to resource price risk. Increased resource productivity would clearly benefit customerfacing companies including those in the consumer goods, consumer electronics, and retail sectors.
Higher resource prices may not translate automatically into higher profits for resource-supply companies
through the cycle—but higher prices are almost certain to lead to increased regulatory action from
governments and the upstream taxation of resources.
The strategic implications of resource-related trends are likely to vary from sector to sector, of
course. Nevertheless, all companies are likely to benefit from adopting a more systematic approach
toward understanding how resources might shape their profits, produce new growth opportunities and
technological discontinuities, and generate new stresses on their management of risk and regulation
(Exhibit E7). Industry leaders could usefully go one step further and strive to shape industry standards
in a way that generates greater transparency throughout the supply chain about resource productivity
and the end-to-end measurement of that industry’s environmental footprint.
-McKinsey Global Institute, Resource Revolution: Meeting the world’s energy, materials, food, and water needs, 2011

Exhibit E7:
Exhibit E7
THERE ARE SEVERAL RESOURCE-RELATED VALUE-CREATION LEVERS FOR BUSINESSES
There are several resource-related value-creation levers for businesses

Guide investment/
divestment decisions
at portfolio level based
on resource trends

Develop resource productivity products
and technologies to fill needs of
customers and company (R&D function)

Composition
of business
portfolio
Mitigate risks and
capture opportunities
from regulation

Innovation
and new
products

Build a better understanding of
resource-related opportunities in new
market segments and geographies and
develop strategies to capture them

New
markets

Growth
Regulatory
management

Reduce reputation
risks and get credit
for your actions
(e.g., through proper
stakeholder
management)

Manage risk of operation
disruptions (from resource
scarcity, climate change
impacts, or community risks)

Green
sales and
marketing
Risk
management

Reputation
management
Operational
risk
management

SOURCE: McKinsey analysis


Return
on
capital

Sustainable
operations

Sustainable
value
chains

Improve revenue through
increased share and/or price
premiums by marketing
resource-efficiency attributes

Improve resource
management and reduce
environmental impact across
value chain to reduce costs
and improve products’ value
propositions

Reduce operating costs through
improved internal resource
management (e.g., water, waste,
energy, carbon, hazardous material)


For some time now, the impending scarcity of resources has been a problem that we’ve collectively—and blindly—
billed forward for future generations to deal with, like social security funding or national debt. But, as the data
from McKinsey suggests, resource scarcity has been exposed and quantified and it can be billed forward no
more. We’re wrestling with the issue right now, and it’s impacting our bottom lines. Working continuously toward
reducing energy consumption and proactively managing resources are obvious and measurable steps toward
creating business benefit for sustainability efforts. This leads us to other drivers that are equally influential in
the pressing need for development of a TESM strategy. One of them is the new global expectation of corporate
responsibility, which we’ll discuss next.

3. BRAND PERCEPTION
In the pre-recession, initial heyday of corporate sustainability, a few brands and
products reaped the benefits of rabid customer loyalty due to their vocal and
YOU R B R AND
demonstrated commitments to environmental and social concerns. Back then, due
HERE
to clear market and demographic segmentation, achieving the measured sales and
loyalty benefits of touting a company’s “greenness” was easier for some brands
than it was for others. For instance, it took considerable time and concerted
demonstration of Walmart’s sustainability efforts to convince the general public
that the “greening” going on in Bentonville was more than a pubic relations ruse,
and that the corporate giant was putting real and effective resources into its sustainability plans. For niche food
manufacturers, electric car builders, tech startups, and even large companies in the IT sector, on the other hand,
demonstration of corporate responsibility has been much more inherent; they’re organic, they reduce emissions,
they’re paperless, they’re digitized.
Now, on the heels of the well-documented, dedicated sustainability efforts of companies like Interface, Patagonia,
Staples, Timberland, and Whole Foods (see any number of green business rankings from Newsweek, Forbes, and
other media outlets), there’s a new “normal” in public and corporate expectations in terms of sustainability and
corporate citizenship. Our new civil society has high and clearly defined expectations of what a good corporate
citizen is. These new expectations include greater sensitivity to not just environmental responsibility, but attention
to social concerns, all of which is rooted in corporate transparency.
Of course, building environmental and social responsibility into
the DNA of a brand is not just about taking steps to move the
needle of public perception. An organization’s public brand
perception and its corporate culture are inextricably linked.
Changing the “green” perception of the brand is therefore an
effort staged on two fronts; changing what customers know about
the company from the outside as well as gauging and improving
on the corporate brand and culture perception among associates
on the inside. It’s critical that employees become a cornerstone
of the effort. We’ll provide specifics on how employee interest
and engagement is best accomplished when we present the
keystones of THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT later in this paper.

There’s a new “normal” in public
and corporate expectations
in terms of sustainability and
corporate citizenship. Civil
society has high and clearly
defined expectations of what a
good corporate citizen is.

As illustrated by the first two drivers, cost is still king in business decision-making. But, as brands and
manufacturers continually develop more environmentally and socially responsible business practices, and as they
expose their successes to the public through corporate transparency, the new normal will continue to propagate.
It will soon become unacceptable for public companies to withhold such data as greenhouse gas emissions and
foreign labor statistics. Inaction and a lack of transparency will become tell tale signs of irresponsibility, negatively
impacting both brand perception and investor expectations. No competitive brand can afford to be left behind.



4. INVESTOR EXPECTATIONS
Even in segments and markets where government and energy/resource
management regulations are not keeping pace with risk, investment stakeholders
are increasingly demanding transparency.
The CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project; www.cdproject.net) is a prime example. The
CDP works to transform business practices to prevent dangerous climate change
and protect natural resources. But, it’s not an organization led by environmental
INVESTOR
advocates; rather, it’s led by an investment community—backed by $79 trillion
EXPECTATIONS
in funding—that’s acutely aware of the business performance implications of social irresponsibility and opacity. As
79 TRILLION
such the CDP holds the largest global collection of self-reported climate change data, designed to arm investors
Meet expectations of $79 trillion
in investor assets that back the
and governments with granular, corporation-specific sustainability data to help them mitigate risk, capitalize
Carbon Disclosure Project’s request
for transparent carbon reporting.
on opportunities, and make investment decisions that drive a more sustainable world. The global investment
community clearly understands that this is a material risk, and investors are increasingly unwilling to take any
investment risk in the form of financing without understanding such factors as long-term carbon emissions, water
consumption, and supply chain vulnerability concerns.
GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), a non-profit organization that promotes economic, environmental and social
sustainability, provides another example of how serious businesses must take the “new norm” of good corporate
citizenship. GRI seeks to provide any company or organization with a comprehensive global sustainability reporting
framework with which to measure and report their sustainability performance.
Outside the realm of voluntary participation in these projects
and initiatives, public finance and commerce exchanges are
requiring increased transparency as well, going so far as to
consider the integration of CDP and GRI-type scores and
data in an effort to formalize and combine the reporting of
all economic, social, and environmental impacts in one legal
filing. But integration of company-specific sustainability
reporting into the public trading arena is just one step we’re
seeing toward real regulation of sustainability efforts. The
pace of federal, state, and local governmental regulation of
corporate responsibility is on the upswing as well.

Investors are increasingly unwilling
to take any investment risk in the
form of financing without
understanding such factors as
long-term carbon emissions, water
consumption, and supply chain
vulnerability concerns.

5. REGULATORY CHANGES
While some of the market facing “buzz” around sustainability initiatives may
have slowed at the hands of the recession and competitive political forces,
governmental sustainability regulatory discussions haven’t stopped. During
2008 and 2009, there were no fewer than 25 different pieces of competing
legislation floating the House and Senate floors. Today, the activity has simply
shifted venues; where they’re not as prevalent on the legislative agenda,
sustainability initiatives have ramped up considerably among federal regulatory
agencies and regional advocacy groups. The EPA, for instance, is pushing
RE GUL ATORY
C H A NGES
regulated management of greenhouse gas emissions through active and proposed amendments to the 40-year-old
Clean Air Act. While international agreement and federal legislation action on carbon emissions have faced their
share of political hang-ups, the EPA actively began flexing its regulatory muscle to regulate big business’ carbon
emissions in 2012. The efforts of the EPA are underscored by state and local governmental regulations such as the
functioning cap-and-trade program to regulate greenhouse gases in California.



New legislation and subsequent governmental regulation of
supply chains, consumption of resources such as water, and
CPG (consumer packaged goods) packaging are already in
play, concurrently with greenhouse gas emissions regulation.
Increasingly, local jurisdictions are enacting laws pertaining
to waste and recycling of plastics, glass, batteries, and
electronics. Some have barred food service establishments
from serving food and beverages in Styrofoam cups and
take-out containers. These regulations, designed to create a
measurable positive impact on the environment, also create
significant financial and management implications
for businesses; the regulations impact supply chain and
sourcing decisions and costs, and they create a multi-site
management challenge for regional and national operators.
To navigate the growing regulatory forces that will impact the
business community, long-range TESM planning is requisite.

Regulations, designed to
create a measurable positive
impact on the environment,
also create significant financial
and management implications
for businesses; the regulations
impact supply chain and sourcing
decisions and costs, and they
create a multi-site management
challenge for regional and national
operators.

6. PHYSICAL RISK
To fully explore the benefits of a TESM strategy, it would be ignorant to
dismiss the physical threats and financial repercussions associated with
droughts and climate change. Yes, it’s difficult to directly tie individual
storms and severe weather patterns to climate change, but we are seeing an
overall trend of increased physical infrastructure and financial (sales) loss, as
well as supply chain disruption, due to increased weather severity, and this is
squarely in line with climate modeling.
PHYSI C AL

While scientific and political debates about climate change continue in the U.S., the insurance industry gives us
RISK
a very real, fact-based litmus test by which we can gauge the financial impact of climate change. The insurance
industry has followed the science of climate change and associated severe weather events more closely than most
industries; in terms of finances, they have the most to lose from another Katrina or Sandy. U.S. insurers alone paid
out $65 billion due to natural disasters in 2012, with Hurricane Sandy accounting for $25 billion of the total.
As such, insurance actuaries are changing the way they insure
businesses and consumers alike based on climate modeling.

Insurance actuaries are
changing the way they insure
businesses and consumers alike
based on climate modeling.

In business, climate change also forces resource cost increases;
a Midwest drought, for instance, drives up the scarcity—and
therefore the cost—of fuel, food, and most certainly water.
The ensuing supply chain disruption adds incrementally to
the business expense and exacerbates the increased cost to
consumers.

TESM facilitates a long-term analysis of risks and opportunities for businesses, helping them plan for and mitigate
the risks of energy and resource costs, scarcity, brand perception, investor relations, regulations, and physical risk.



THE DRIVERS OF TOTAL ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY
MANAGEMENT (TESM) ARE REAL: WHAT DO YOU DO?
The drivers of corporate energy and sustainability management initiatives in a post-recession business environment
are not just decidedly real; they’re more relevant than at any other juncture in history. Establishment of a TESM
strategy is a holistic and strategic means of meeting the ongoing challenges businesses will encounter in the face
of corporate sustainability expectations and pressures.
That said, TESM management is more a JOURNEY than it is a plug-and-play proposition. The TESM management
challenge is fundamentally a change management challenge. It’s a continuous process that includes:
■■ Educating the whole organization on the positive bottom-line business impacts of sustainability and

good corporate citizenship.
■■ Provisioning the visibility into the key performance indicators (KPIs) that create clear understanding

of the cultural and corporate sustainability direction the company is taking.
■■ Providing stakeholders and associates the resources and tools they’ll need to take action.
■■ Actively pushing for increased innovation and bolder action by the board and executive team.

The change management challenge presented by a TESM initiative is uniquely difficult because the topic is
inherently broad. It includes establishing baselines; creating and communicating policies on topics as diverse
as energy usage, water consumption, waste reduction, carbon emissions, and supply chain efficiency; and then
measuring performance, all under one, integrated platform. The single platform is key; managing TESM as a
holistic effort across the enterprise is critical to long-term success, largely because the interrelationships between
resource areas it addresses requires single-source visibility to establish correlations, develop baselines, identify
opportunities for improvement, measure successes, and efficiently report to internal and external stakeholders.
Establishing a TESM strategy is critical to breaking down this complexity in a way that facilitates leadership
and action when and where it’s needed most.



WHERE STRATEGY BECOMES PLAN: THE BLUEPRINT
DATA

P E O PL E

Communicating accurately and effectively with customers, shareholders, and other
C
stakeholders maximizes your energy & sustainability efforts by enhancing brand image
s
and increasing transparency.
a

CO N TI N UAL
I M PR O V E M E N T

DATA

I
Infrastructure and operations innovations are speeding up, creating new opportunities
to create organizational value through investments in efﬁciency, renewable energy,
t
and closed-loop material ﬂows.
a

MA R KE TI N G
& R E PO RTI N G

MARKETING
& REPORTING

Leadership, communication and employee engagement are critical to the success
L
of any change initiative that relies on sustained organizational commitment and
o
continual improvement to drive long-term success.
c

I N F R AS TR UC TUR E

CONTINUAL
IMPROVEMENT

D
Data empowers intelligent decision-making, which helps organizations focus
resources on high-impact areas and provides quantitative feedback critical for
r
making adaptive management decisions.
m

G
Given daily advances in the drivers and techniques for Total Energy & Sustainability
M
Management, enduring success will be predicated on organizations’ adoption of
c
continual improvement process management.

PEOPLE

INFRASTRUCTURE

THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT is your guide to structuring the chaos and organizational complexity of a TESM strategy,
and to making the strategic execution of sustainability efforts both actionable and controllable. Built using Ecova’s
Keystone approach—five categories that structure the complexity of energy and sustainability management into
mission-critical, actionable, and results-oriented tasks—THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT will help your organization
develop a strategic path on a topic that increasingly demands the attention of business leaders across the globe. It
was developed over the course of more than a decade of client work on TESM issues, using a data based approach
that clearly establishes what works and what does not.
THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT brings management of each area of TESM—energy, water, waste, carbon, and supply
chain—together in one place, addressing the challenges outlined in each of the five drivers covered above.

THE BLUEPRINT KEYSTONES:
A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE DETAILS
With a solid conceptual view of THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT established, we can go into some depth on each Keystone
to illustrate TESM in practice. Here, we’ll highlight a few key points of each Keystone to frame up the case for TESM.

KEYSTONE ONE:

DATA

Data empowers intelligent decision-making, which helps organizations focus resources on high-impact areas and
provides quantitative feedback critical for making adaptive management decisions. Let’s look at some key points of
data capture and management that contribute to THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT.



COMPLETE UTILITY BILL DATA CAPTURE
While Smart Grid technologies and the real time data they enable are quickly gaining traction, the reality is that
utility bill data will remain a foundation for TESM data visibility and reporting in the immediate future. It will be
some time until companies have the majority of their facilities and assets connected to the Smart Grid, and it
will take time beyond that for the collective industry to get good at managing it. Meanwhile, becoming efficient
with the collection and management of utility bill information is foundational to corporate-wide resource analysis,
planning and reporting.

SMART METER AND SUBMETER DEPLOYMENT
Smart meters and submeters are prerequisite to the Smart Grid
of the future, and they enable more granular and efficient data
collection in the present. Companies need to begin deploying
smart meters and submeters at the speed most cost effective
for their individual businesses. Quicker access to more granular
data facilitates better management when the systems are in
place to turn that data into meaningful management decisions.
They also hold the potential, when working with the right
vendor, to enable remote monitoring and control to address
issues before they even happen.

KEY POINTS: DATA
■■

Complete Utility Bill Data Capture

■■

Smart Meter and Submeter
Deployment

■■

Additional Resource/Emissions
Data Capture

■■

Multipoint Variable Normalization

■■

Internal and External
Benchmarking

■■

Supply Chain Information
Requests

■■

Single Platform Data Storage,
Calculation, and Reporting

■■

Reporting Cadence and Review
Responsibilities

ADDITIONAL RESOURCE/EMISSIONS DATA CAPTURE
To create complete TESM data sets, companies need to get
good at capturing metrics that fall outside normal data systems.
Fleet information, employee travel, refrigerant usage and other
business inputs and emissions are great examples. Developing
a proactive and efficient data capture system for these
datasets, which often exist in different databases or outside
the boundaries of your organization altogether, will facilitate
complete analysis and reporting processes.

MULTIPOINT VARIABLE NORMALIZATION
Once data is collected, it’s much more valuable for analysis after it’s normalized. Statistical normalization
allows businesses to reduce the “noise” generated by an overwhelming volume of data, enabling a focus on the
materially relevant trends and changes that drive actionable decisions. Common variables to use when conducting
normalization exercises include unit-cost variance, weather, and business-specific metrics that tie to organizational
productivity or service delivery.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BENCHMARKING
Once a company is gathering and analyzing its own data, the information can be put to good use. Internal
benchmarking enables the identification of outliers—those facilities or operations that are performing above
or below the baseline. This insight enables the establishment of best practices gleaned from over performers,
knowledge that can be transferred to address the challenges faced by under performers.
Benchmarking also opens the possibility of comparing an entire portfolio or operation against the industry averages
of its peers. This analysis, using competitive data perspectives, further drives decision-making; those companies
that find themselves in front of the curve can continually refine, while those falling behind can identify where
relative inefficiencies are resulting in business costs that their peers don’t face.



SUPPLY CHAIN INFORMATION REQUESTS
While more difficult to gather, information from supply chain partners is increasingly being requested, especially
in consumer-facing sectors such as restaurants and retail. In those sectors, more than 75% of total energy and
sustainability (TES) impacts may not come from issues within a company’s direct controllable operations but from
their supply chain. Keeping pace with changing expectations around supply chain transparency and engaging
vendors is key to developing good data sharing practices.

SINGLE PLATFORM DATA STORAGE, CALCULATION, AND REPORTING
All of the data we’re discussing can be unwieldy to manage, especially when it’s located in disparate departments,
spreadsheets, and software programs across the enterprise. To get true and meaningful visibility into TESM
data, it’s imperative to pull all this data into a single, integrated reporting platform. If this doesn’t happen,
data management and reporting is so cumbersome it’s sure to become an onerous proposition. Data needs to be
empowering, not a manual, time-consuming, and loathed chore. Only when data collection is as automated as
possible and aggregated on a single platform can an organization truly “own” it.

REPORTING CADENCE AND REVIEW RESPONSIBILITIES
Data is the foundation for insight, but can be actionable only when best practices are in place for its timely
review by the proper stakeholders. THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT highlights the need for plans to be in place for
the appropriate dissemination of reports to the stakeholders who require them, as well as the need to establish
expectations around what they do with that information.
Deploying utility expense and data management, energy supply management, and facility optimization and
sustainability tools from a trusted provider enables the seamless, single-source access to data that’s imperative to
achieving quantifiable improvement.

KEYSTONE T WO:

PEOPLE

Leadership, communication, and employee engagement are
critical to the success of any change initiative that relies
on sustained organizational commitment and continual
improvement to drive long-term success. Let’s explore how
people impact the success of a TESM initiative.

RISK & OPPORTUNITY BRIEFING
Before presuming leaders can be effective drivers for
sustainability transformation, we need to ensure that everyone
has a good baseline understanding of the issues and drivers
that make TESM an issue. These factors can be unique to a
company based on factors such as the industry in which it
plays or its geography. We can’t assume that all leaders have
an equal starting point in their understanding of these topics,
so it’s important to establish a level playing field where a
shared understanding of TESM issues can be expected.


KEY POINTS: PEOPLE
■■ Risk & Opportunity Briefing
■■ Leadership Commitment
■■ Cross-Functional Team Development
■■ Policy Development
■■ Job Description Modifications &

Incentives Development
■■ Position-Specific Training
■■ Ongoing Outreach / Engagement

Campaign


LEADERSHIP COMMITMENT
Sweeping organizational change—which TESM demands—starts at the top. In practice, sustainability change
is equal parts top-down and bottom-up, but without top-down support efforts will continually fall flat. Business
leaders need to express deep understanding of the topics, how they affect the core business, and what they
expect managers and employees to do to help address the risks and opportunities we’ve covered here. While policy
statements and press releases are important, they must be continually reinforced through ongoing communication
integrated with core business priority messaging.

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Once leaders have established their commitment, the heavy lifting begins. TESM demands a multi-disciplinary
team of individuals with decision-making authority and the budgetary discretion necessary to identify priority
projects and execute on them. Too often, “green” teams are comprised of “champions” with great desire but no
power to affect real change. Serious sustainability initiatives display executive sponsorship of a team of decision
makers who will get things—both big and little—done, illustrating in practice that the executive decree is not in
word only.
POLICY DEVELOPMENT
As referenced above, establishment of an official, formal policy is important. The policy serves as a reference point
that keeps the organization honest and enforces the sharing of data with external stakeholders. Policies are only
effective in how they are executed in the organization, but the ideological statement must be codified if for no
other reason than to deliver a clear, overarching decree across the enterprise.

JOB DESCRIPTION MODIFICATIONS & INCENTIVES DEVELOPMENT
Sustainability is about doing things differently, making the different behavior of the people across the company
incumbent to its success. As such, job descriptions must be reviewed and modified in a manner that supports the
new responsibilities of the individuals held accountable for the company’s TESM priorities.
Accompanying new job descriptions are the systems of incentives and disincentives that accompany workplace
expectations. Companies embarking on, or seeking to enhance their sustainability journey must define how they
will incite the specific changes they wish to see, and they must continually manage that incentive.

POSITION-SPECIFIC TRAINING
Setting new and clear expectations is important, and that’s leadership’s prerogative. Equally important is
empowering employees to meet the new expectations they’ve been given. Understanding and accommodating the
education and training that associates need to be successful in executing organizational sustainability priorities is
a critical step toward building a culture of champions.

ONGOING OUTREACH / ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGN
In the effort toward company-wide TESM literacy, it’s important to focus on ongoing education and outreach to
every employee in the organization. While the specifics of such outreach are dependent on the company and the
industry it serves, it can be useful to mirror successful communications and engagement efforts deployed for other
important internal change initiatives.
Change management is almost always difficult. Therefore, consultancy and ongoing material support is key to
ensuring long-term follow-through on strategies and objectives that, when achieved, result in significant
bottom-line benefit.



KEYSTONE THREE:

INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure and operations innovations are speeding up, creating new opportunities to build organizational value
through investments in efficiency, renewable energy, and closed-loop material flows. Here, we’ll dive into the
infrastructure requirements necessary for TESM success.

ENERGY AND WASTE PROCUREMENT

KEY POINTS: INFASTRUCTURE
■■ Energyand Waste Procurement
■■ Facility Outlier Identification
■■ Facility and Operation Audits
■■ Project Evaluation and

Prioritization
■■ Capital Improvement Plan

Active resource management begins long before the meter turns
or the trucks roll. For energy, in deregulated markets savings
and source control are made possible by establishing active
management of procurement contracts, which facilitate real
cost mitigation and the opportunity for sourcing renewable
energy. For waste, active management of vendor contracts and
service levels—often an ignored discipline or outsourced to
vendors who may have incentives poorly aligned to those of their
client—can result in major savings and help you execute on
recycling and compost initiatives.

Development
■■ Operation Protocol Modifications
■■ Remote Monitoring and Response
■■ Project Monitoring and Verification
■■ New Construction Guidelines

FACILITY OUTLIER IDENTIFICATION
With a full slate of sustainability data available to the
organization, outlier identification becomes elementary. As
earlier referenced, outlier identification allows organizations
to determine why the best are the best, as well as what issues
create challenges for the under performers. This is true
across all resource areas including energy, water, and waste
management. THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT helps organizations
put the mechanisms in place to establish this visibility and to
correct the problems identified through data analysis.

FACILITY AND OPERATION AUDITS
While there is much to be revealed by data, change is still most affected by “boots on the ground.” Conducting
thorough engineering-level analysis of both successes and causes of inefficiency is a critical component of
developing confidence in capital investments designed to reduce costs and mitigate environmental impacts.
While it’s perhaps inefficient to get this granular at every site, auditing a representative sampling of facilities
and operations provides invaluable insight into what’s actually happening on the ground.

PROJECT EVALUATION AND PRIORITIZATION
With data and audit information in hand, organizations can evaluate and prioritize the best opportunities for new
project development. Some of these will likely be no-cost/low cost “no brainer” operational decisions, while others
will have capital budget requirements. This is where diligent analysis of each opportunity is necessary, including
the full range of parameters most important to your specific organization (i.e. capital cost, ROI, environmental
benefit, and communication/outreach potential).



CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT
Not all projects identified on THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT: JOURNEY will fit into the no-cost/low cost category.
At some point, the CFO will be heavily involved in consideration of capital-intensive projects. This involvement
requires the analysis of ROI in today’s hard dollars, as well as consideration of the likelihood of cost escalation
and the softer project costs and benefits dealing with utility incentives, employee education, customer brand
enhancement, and environmental impact.

OPERATION PROTOCOL MODIFICATIONS
In addition to capital investments, there will likely be necessary changes to how associates are interacting with
the infrastructure that’s critical to TESM success. It’s important to give operational behavior as much attention as
that given to physical systems, leading back to the documentation and training necessary to enforce new TESM
protocol.

REMOTE MONITORING AND RESPONSE
Whenever and wherever possible, companies should deploy the remote monitoring and controls capabilities that
will allow for automated or proactive management responses to its TESM infrastructure-dependent systems.

PROJECT MONITORING AND VERIFICATION
Of course, when the CFO is involved, the return on money spent implementing and executing must be quantified.
Each project on THE JOURNEY should have an associated measurement and validation plan that illustrates
field-level successes, or failure, across the organization. This objective look-back at project execution is invaluable
when planning for future initiatives.

NEW CONSTRUCTION GUIDELINES
Imediately on THE JOURNEY, there will be much emphasis on existing infrastructure. That said, early benefits
of successful TESM will surely contribute to planned growth and expansion. THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT helps
companies transfer sustainability successes and established best practices to new facilities as they come online.
From fixing that which was broken, organizations are better equipped to build efficient and standardized new
facilities from the ground up.
Benchmarking, monitoring, and management of TESM efforts are dependent on the bricks-and-mortar
infrastructure necessary for the efficient aggregation and analysis of the data that drives continuous innovation.
Successful sustainability initiatives exhibit the plant-level physical infrastructures necessary to enable ongoing
improvement.



KEYSTONE FOUR:

MARKETING/REPORTING

Communicating accurately and effectively with customers, shareholders, and other stakeholders maximizes your
energy and sustainability efforts by enhancing brand image and increasing transparency. Let’s explore how
THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT helps companies share both their successes and opportunities for improvement.

EXTERNAL BRANDING/MESSAGING CREATION
In business, success breeds more success. That axiom is best
exploited when success is proactively communicated across the
enterprise and the industry. It’s therefore important to develop a plan
for the communication of TESM achievement, which helps establish
sustainability as core to the corporate culture and the brand. A
communication plan that’s based on the demand for transparency
creates a virtual venue for the celebration of measurable, fact-based
success and the sharing of forward-looking TESM plans.

REPORTING STRATEGY & PROTOCOL SELECTION
(GRI, CDP, ENERGY STAR)

KEY POINTS:
MARKETING/REPORTING
■■ External Branding/Messaging

Creation
■■ Reporting Strategy &

Protocol Selection (GRI,
CDP, ENERGY STAR)
■■ Third Party Data Verification
■■ Annual Third Party Report

Submissions
Consumers and the investment community alike have developed
distaste for “greenwashing,” the term that describes a company’s
■■ Corporate Sustainability
efforts to “spin” its green stature beyond hard facts. Instead, they’re
Report Development
increasingly seeking hard and fast data that’s tied back to any
number of third-party protocols (i.e. the aforementioned CDP, GRI
and other “green score” methods). THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT will
help organizations determine which reporting structure makes the most sense for their particular place on the
sustainability continuum, provide guidance on the reporting format, and help them commit to a yearly reporting
practice. This goes a long way toward building credibility for internal and external communication efforts.

THIRD PARTY DATA VERIFICATION
While data produced from trusted brands is generally held credible, the earlier referenced “greenwashing”
phenomenon has resulted in skepticism on the part of the consumer and investment communities. Data is
best accepted when given a third-party stamp of approval, akin to third-party validation of corporate financial
disclosures. This will become as standard a practice in sustainability reporting as it has in the financial arena.

ANNUAL THIRD PARTY REPORT SUBMISSIONS
Once a particular reporting protocol is determined, ongoing commitment to it is key. With guidance from THE
ECOVA BLUEPRINT, these reporting processes will get easier by the year as it becomes clear what data is required
and from which systems to gather it. Annual third-party reporting consistency also illustrates commitment to
ongoing transparency in good times and bad.

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORT DEVELOPMENT
Optimizing the benefit of TESM communication requires telling the story in the context of the specific brand
culture of the business. The story best resonates with employees and consumers when it’s told in a transparent,
honest tone that’s authentic to the brand.
The companies with the most successful sustainability initiatives are those that establish corporate responsibility
as core to both the private corporate culture and the public-facing brand. Successful sustainability is concrete and
reportable, requiring nothing in the way of so-called “greenwashing” or PR “spin.”



KEYSTONE FIVE:

CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT

Given daily advances in the drivers and techniques for TESM, enduring success will be predicated on organizations’
adoption of continual improvement process management. Here, we’ll explore how THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT helps
guide the benefits of ongoing sustainability.

INTERNAL READINESS-TO-CHANGE ASSESSMENT
Before embarking on the process of continual improvement
critical to TESM success over the long haul, it’s important
for a company to define its position on the sustainability
continuum. Do employees understand the issues? Do they
care? Are they equipped to leverage the existing infrastructure
in a manner that will achieve the desired outcome? What will
it take to get there? Engaging a third party can help ensure
clear visibility of the organization’s collective starting point on
THE JOURNEY.

KEY POINTS OF CONTINUAL
IMPROVEMENT
■■ Internal Readiness-to-Change

Assessment
■■ Industry Trends/Competitive Assessment
■■ Company-Specific Risk/Opportunity

Assessment
■■ Goal Development

INDUSTRY TRENDS/COMPETITIVE ASSESSMENT
Establishing a starting point for internal assessment is
important, and so is understanding how the competitive
set stacks up. Knowing the leaders and the laggards in the
industry and marking the company’s place on that scale
helps with the establishment of goals and the prioritization of
projects. It’s particularly important for executive stakeholders
to gain this perspective in order to understand their
broader position in the market and create benchmarks for
achievement.

■■ KPI and Baseline Development
■■ Opportunity Evaluation Methodology
■■ Funding Mechanisms
■■ Strategic Plan Implementation

COMPANY-SPECIFIC RISK/OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT
With a general understanding of internal and external positioning from the start, business leaders can more
accurately assess their own specific risks and opportunities. Competitive advantage and business benefit are best
achieved when there’s a focus on company-specific opportunities. Only through assessment and planning will
TESM become a true source of competitive differentiation tied to broader business strategies.

GOAL DEVELOPMENT
Goals are critical to measured success and the business benefits that come with it. When setting goals, consider
that they must be relevant to the challenge at hand if they’re going to inspire change. For instance, reducing
greenhouse gas emissions .5% over a 10-year period indexed to revenue does nothing to address global greenhouse
gas emissions in a way that reflects an understanding of the scope and timing of the problem. At the same time,
goals must be attainable. Setting too big a goal with too short a timeframe to achieve it will result in disenchanted
associates and stakeholders. Goals that are too small will thwart innovation. THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT helps
organizations establish fitting goals by helping them find the balance between underwhelming and overzealous.

KPI AND BASELINE DEVELOPMENT
Data and progress must be measured from a starting point. Selecting an organizational baseline and being clear on
which metrics will become the KPIs that measure objective success or failure is critical to creating the feedback
that will establish and continually refine a course of action.



OPPORTUNITY EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
To drive continual improvement, organizations need a transparent process by which to evaluate and compare their
projects. THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT supports the development of company-specific methodologies necessary to
keep the entire organization informed on what’s being done, what’s next on the agenda, and what opportunities are
being shelved—and why.

FUNDING MECHANISMS
A mandate is a policy without legs if left unfunded. With executive oversight, the CFO must be brought fully in
to the fold and be prepared to support investments in TESM when and where it makes sense for the established
course of the organization.

STRATEGIC PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
Continual process improvement is an art and science worthy of its own field of study, and organizations embarking
on THE JOURNEY will need to become proficient at it. THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT is designed to help companies
learn how to set goals, create an environment that supports and rewards innovation, empower employees to make
the changes that drive goal attainment, and provide visibility into metrics in a consistent and timely manner.
THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT helps companies get good at change, because change is constant and it drives ongoing
opportunities for TESM.
Where the first four keystones are established and results are monitored, companies develop dedicated
expertise and genuine enthusiasm for the expense-saving and sustainability benefits of the program. Continuous
improvement is cultivated where this expertise and enthusiasm meet.
Of course, any resource-intensive business initiative demands a positive outcome. With TESM, that outcome is
not only positive and measured in true dollar savings and efficiency gains, it’s continual.

ESTABLISHING BLUEPRINT SUCCESS
As with any significant organizational change that is, at its core, based on a process of continual improvement,
the work of TESM within your organization will not be done any time soon. In fact, as technology advances and
resource and commodity markets evolve, TESM is never really finished. Managed correctly, the outcomes of TESM
are essentially the same as the drivers—always in play and forever evolving—but with a happy ending that satisfies
all stakeholders, from the finance office to consumers to the investment and exchange communities.
That said, the initial benefits of executing on THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT are profound, measurable, and almost
immediate. It’s not at all uncommon for businesses to experience:
■■ The realization of 20% to 30% percent reductions in utility costs
■■ The ability to speak confidently and effectively to the 72% of U.S. consumers who believe it is important to

buy from responsible companies
■■ Satisfaction in keeping good company with the 63% of S&P 500 businesses that account for and disclose

their greenhouse gas impacts
■■ The ability to preemptively plan for likely regulatory changes regarding issues such as carbon, waste

management, and supply chain accountability
■■ Assurance that they’re prepared for foreseeable future risks such as supply chain and physical infrastructure

disruptions.



Our economy is rapidly shifting away from non-renewable resource consumption and the take-make-waste supply
chains of the past. The world is decarbonizing and competitive businesses are practicing radical efficiency. This
ongoing economic transformation will rival the scale of the industrial revolution, creating great disparity between
winners and losers in the marketplace.

THE BLUEPRINT IS FOR EVERYONE
Setting the historical drama of the situation we face
aside for a moment, it’s important to note that this
isn’t a “sky is falling” (a-la Chicken Little) scenario.
There is not—and there never will be—a solution,
system, or application that results in “green panacea.”
As we established earlier in this paper, TESM is about
responding to a changing marketplace. It’s about
companies establishing a position on the sustainability
continuum and within each market segment—regardless
of current “green” standing—then developing the
strategy that differentiates the company’s efforts within
each driver. Establishing THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT
will prove to effectively direct a company’s efforts
accordingly, maximizing the impact of TESM initiatives.

THE BLUEPRINT is about responding
to a changing marketplace. It’s
about companies establishing
a position on the sustainability
continuum and within each market
segment—regardless of current
“green” standing—then developing
the strategy that differentiates the
company’s efforts within each driver.

As the drivers covered in this paper illustrate, there is one undisputed absolute when it comes to corporate
sustainability: If you haven’t already, now is the time to establish a dedicated practice of TESM. And if you’re
already engaged, now is the time to accelerate your efforts. The immediate future promises the inevitability of
quickly changing marketplaces in response to our new reality.

Learn more and explore THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT Resources:

THE VIDEO

THE FRAMEWORK

BLUEPRINT VIDEO

THE JOURNEY

BLUEPRINT FRAMEWORK
INFOGRAPHIC PDF

THE TOOLKIT


D
RA ND
BR AN
R B
UR
Y OU H E R E
YO U

BLUEPRINT JOURNEY
INFOGRAPHIC PDF

REQUEST THE FULL ECOVA
BLUEPRINT TOOLKIT


ABOUT ECOVA
Ecova is the total energy and sustainability management company whose sole purpose is to see more, save more
and sustain more for our clients. Using insights based on consumption, cost and carbon footprint data spanning
thousands of utilities, hundreds of thousands of business sites and millions of households, we provide fully
managed, technology-optimized solutions for saving resources, which in turn increase returns, lower risks, and
enhance reputations. Ecova is the largest non-regulated subsidiary of Avista Corp (NYSE: AVA and avistacorp.com).
For more information, visit the company’s website at ecova.com, on LinkedIn at linkd.in/ecovainc, or follow Ecova
on Twitter at @ecovainc.

CONTACT US TODAY
Let us demonstrate what we can do for you.

800 791 7564
info@ecova.com


ecova.com

THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT ™
Your guide to developing a proactive, strategic and actionable Total Energy & Sustainability Management (TESM) plan.
As society and marketplaces change – as they always have and always will – companies will lead, keep pace or be left
behind. It is a story as old as commerce itself.
The companies best primed to succeed are those that clearly see the changing business landscape, prepare their
organization effectively for a long and difficult journey, and actively lead their people around constantly changing
obstacles to arrive at their intended destination.

FRAMEWORK
D ATA

Infrastructure and operations innovations are speeding up, creating new opportunities
to create organizational value through investments in efficiency, renewable energy,
and closed-loop material flows.
Communicating accurately and effectively with customers, shareholders, and other
stakeholders maximizes your energy & sustainability efforts by enhancing brand image
and increasing transparency.

C ONTINUAL
IMPROVEM ENT

DATA

Leadership, communication and employee engagement are critical to the success
of any change initiative that relies on sustained organizational commitment and
continual improvement to drive long-term success.

MARK ETING
& REPORTING

MARKETING
& REPORTING

P EOPLE

INFRASTRUCTURE

CONTINUAL
IMPROVEMENT

Data empowers intelligent decision-making, which helps organizations focus
resources on high-impact areas and provides quantitative feedback critical for
making adaptive management decisions.

Given daily advances in the drivers and techniques for Total Energy & Sustainability
Management, enduring success will be predicated on organizations’ adoption of
continual improvement process management.

PEOPLE

INFRASTRUCTURE

JOURNEY
Total Energy & Sustainability Management is a core competency of
forward-looking companies, spanning a full range of business-critical
inputs and outputs. The risk of inaction grows daily, as do the
opportunities to make energy and sustainability management
a defining part of your strategy for success in
the marketplace of the future.

YO U R B R AND
HERE

72%

Reach the 72%
of consumers
who support responsible
companies.

STARTING OUT
You are now ready to start
your journey of opportunity
maximization and risk
avoidance.

C OS T
MA NAGEM ENT

30%

Realize a
30% reduction
in utility costs.

BRAND
RE LE VANC E
INV ES TOR
EX P EC TATIONS

SUCCESS!

78 TRILLION

Meet expectations of $78 trillion
in investor assets that back the
Carbon Disclosure Project’s request
for transparent carbon reporting.

THE NEXT JOURNEY
Every endpoint is the start
for a new adventure. Let’s
keep growing together.

PHYS I CAL
RIS K

20%

Avoid supply
chain disruption
that can negatively affect
company share price by as
much as 20%.

REGU L ATORY
C H A NGES

80%

Plan for an 80%
reduction in GHG
emissions, a potential target
of proposed carbon legislation.

© 2013 Ecova, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


THE ECOVA BLUEPRINT ™: FRAMEWORK
Welcome to the Blueprint Framework – your planning guide for Total Energy
& Sustainability Management success.
CONTINUAL
IMPROVEMENT

The Framework will help your organization develop a strategic approach
to a management priority that increasingly demands the attention of
business leaders across the globe. The Framework was built using 5 categories
that structure the complexity of energy and sustainability management into
mission-critical, actionable and results-oriented tasks.

MARKETING
& REPORTING

DATA

PEOPLE

Put the Framework to use today and start maximizing the short and
long-term business value of proactive and strategic Total Energy &
Sustainability Management.

INFRASTRUCTURE

D ATA

Portfolio/
Asset Data
Management

PE OPLE

Risk &
Opportunity
Briefing

INFRASTRUCTURE

Energy &
Waste
Procurement

MARKE TING

Complete
Utility Bill
Data Capture

External Branding/
Messaging Creation

Leadership
Commitment

Regulated
Rate Plan
Analysis

& REPORTI NG

CONTI NUAL
IMPROVE MENT

Smart Meter
& Submeter
Deployment

Internal
Readiness-to-Change
Assessment

Cross-Functional
Team
Development

Budgeting &
Accruals

Policy
Development

Facility
Outlier
Analysis

Reporting Strategy & Protocol
Selection
(GRI, CDP, ENERGY STAR)

Industry
Trends/Competitive
Assessment

Company Specific
Risk/Opportunity
Assessment

Multipoint
Variable
Normalization

Additional
Resource/
Emissions
Data Capture

SEC Disclosure
Evaluation

Goal
Development

Internal
Initiative
Branding &
Launch

Facility &
Operation
Audits

Job Description
Modifications
& Incentives
Development

Project
Evaluation &
Prioritization

Position-Specific
Training

Capital
Improvement
Plan
Development

3rd Party Data
Verification

KPI & Baseline
Development

Supply Chain
Information
Requests

Internal &
External
Benchmarking

Operation
Protocol
Modifications

Annual 3rd Party Report
Submissions

Trending,
Forecast
& Scenario
Analysis

Opportunity
Evaluation
Methodology

Single Platform
Data Storage,
Calculation
& Reporting

Competition &
Gamification

Best Practice &
Story Sharing

Remote
Monitoring &
Response

Project
Monitoring &
Verification

Corporate Sustainability
Report Development

Strategic Plan
Development

Reporting
Cadence
& Review
Responsibilities

Ongoing
Outreach/
Engagement
Campaign

New
Construction
Guidelines

Consumer Outreach
Campaign

Funding
Mechanism
Creation

Strategic Plan
Implementation

MANAGING INPUTS & OUTPUTS
Total Energy & Sustainability Management spans a broad array of business inputs and outputs, each
accompanied by unique opportunities and risks. Great management approaches clearly see and plan for
the close interrelationships between these categories. One plan + one platform = maximum value.


© 2013 Ecova, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Ecova Blueprint - Total Energy and Sustainabiliity Management

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