“Ask and ye shall receive: Best Practices in Employee Energy and Conservation Policies”

When politics influence how sustainability and conservation goals are set, the goals can occasionally outpace local experience and the ability to do the work required to achieve them. To avoid this, municipalities can work with the Technical Assistance Program (TAP) to meet their energy objectives. Assistance can range from consulting with energy experts to devising a research report on energy requirements to obtaining ongoing program support. Philadelphia is an example of a municipality that requested and recently benefited from TAP assistance.

The Philadelphia mayor’s office was working toward creating a planned sustainability blueprint, but needed additional guidance to design a conservation and energy policy for government employees. A TAP-sponsored webinar described the best practice approach of engaging staff when developing sustainability policies to maximize the effort’s impact. Philadelphia was interested in learning how other cities had approached the issue of planned sustainability and requested more information on successful strategies and communication plans from around the country.

In response, TAP brought in team partner Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP), which produced a report on case studies of effective policy development strategies. The report also made some key recommendations on:

• Executive leadership – Directorial guidance should originate from the mayor’s office.
• Metrics and objectives – Goal-setting and tracking are vital for enduring achievement.
• Outreach and education – Shared understanding will result in broader participation and innovation.

NEEP’s expert guidance led Philadelphia’s project team to create the Municipal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Policy for Employees in support of the city’s Greenworks Philadelphia sustainability initiative. Encouraging Philadelphia’s workforce to actively participate in the plan will influence the city’s ability to meet its goals.

Please comment to this post sharing how the TAP team has supported efforts in your city. For direct assistance developing effective strategies to meet your city’s energy goals, please contact a Technical Assistance Provider.

Content for this Blog post courtesy of Nick Lange, Vermont Energy Investment Corporation