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Catalyst Speaker: Peter Senge
From MIT and the Society for Organizational Learning.
Efficiency is a slippery slope. It presents some thorny challenges:
* Diminishing returns: Because of huge amounts of wasted energy in our economy, we can find huge savings opportunities when we first get started with energy work. Quickly, however, the opportunities drop and it gets harder.
* Going after the low-hanging fruit is something the rank-in-file employees can tackle. However, deeper, more fundamental changes to organizations require the leadership to be willing to embrace and lead change.
* The benefits of energy efficiency can be quickly swamped by growth. Ultimately, we need to focus on reducing absolute carbon emissions, if we are to solve the climate problem.
Why has energy efficiency been slow to gain traction in our society. Peter says "We lack vision." We need a vision of how we are going to get to a low-carbon economy.
His parting quote: "Rationality doesn't inpire change. Rationality allows us to do what we're already doing better. We need vision, passion and creativity to make the fundamental changes we need to our economy."
Additional notes:
How do we bring major project capital into the equation?
Why do we have to grow forever? It's a fairly new constructive.
Don't agree that efficiency will be swamped by growth.
Can't solve the climate problem with just energy efficiency. Don't change the system, Is energy efficiency a big distraction?
What is the longer-term vision that aligns with sustainability principles, e.g., get off fossil fuels? Knowing we have to get there, where does energy efficiency fit?
What are social behavior changes to make the technology changes? You need a body of change agents. You need to open the door to people who get excited about changing systems. Maybe that's a constituency who can help change whole system later. Achieve impact, open their minds.
How do we bring major project capital into the equation?
Why do we have to grow forever? It's a fairly new construct, historically.
Don't agree that efficiency will be swamped by growth.
Can't solve the climate problem with just energy efficiency. It doesn't change the system... Is energy efficiency a big distraction?
Brainstorm a specific longer-term vision that is really sustainable, e.g., get off fossil fuels. If we see where we have to get, where does energy efficiency fit?
What are the social behavior changes needed to make the technology changes? You need a body of change agents. Getting action opens the door to people who get excited about changing systems. Maybe that's a constituency who can help change whole system later. Achieve impact, open their minds.
Energy efficiency is the proof to see that this can work, this is how we transition to the next stage.
If focus on EE to exclusion of other things, that's not good. we need to multi-task: renewables, behavior changes...
How we excite people? Example - small company - created residential energy monitoring device allowing home owners to track own consumption. They didn't have good adoption. They created a contract between parent and teen. Parent buys the device, with the contract, they agree to give the teen half the money saves. Teen signs and then becomes the change agent advocating for energy efficiency. 15 year old is the change agent - they evangelize. What's the equivalent in other areas? How could this be carried over to commercial real estate, e.g., owner/tenant incentives - maybe revenue sharing?
Efficiency is a slippery slope. It presents some thorny challenges:
* Diminishing returns: Because of huge amounts of wasted energy in our economy, we can find huge savings opportunities when we first get started with energy work. Quickly, however, the opportunities drop and it gets harder.
* Going after the low-hanging fruit is something the rank-in-file employees can tackle. However, deeper, more fundamental changes to organizations require the leadership to be willing to embrace and lead change.
* The benefits of energy efficiency can be quickly swamped by growth. Ultimately, we need to focus on reducing absolute carbon emissions, if we are to solve the climate problem.
Why has energy efficiency been slow to gain traction in our society. Peter says "We lack vision." We need a vision of how we are going to get to a low-carbon economy.
His parting quote: "Rationality doesn't inpire change. Rationality allows us to do what we're already doing better. We need vision, passion and creativity to make the fundamental changes we need to our economy."
Additional notes:
How do we bring major project capital into the equation?
Why do we have to grow forever? It's a fairly new constructive.
Don't agree that efficiency will be swamped by growth.
Can't solve the climate problem with just energy efficiency. Don't change the system, Is energy efficiency a big distraction?
What is the longer-term vision that aligns with sustainability principles, e.g., get off fossil fuels? Knowing we have to get there, where does energy efficiency fit?
What are social behavior changes to make the technology changes? You need a body of change agents. You need to open the door to people who get excited about changing systems. Maybe that's a constituency who can help change whole system later. Achieve impact, open their minds.
How do we bring major project capital into the equation?
Why do we have to grow forever? It's a fairly new construct, historically.
Don't agree that efficiency will be swamped by growth.
Can't solve the climate problem with just energy efficiency. It doesn't change the system... Is energy efficiency a big distraction?
Brainstorm a specific longer-term vision that is really sustainable, e.g., get off fossil fuels. If we see where we have to get, where does energy efficiency fit?
What are the social behavior changes needed to make the technology changes? You need a body of change agents. Getting action opens the door to people who get excited about changing systems. Maybe that's a constituency who can help change whole system later. Achieve impact, open their minds.
Energy efficiency is the proof to see that this can work, this is how we transition to the next stage.
If focus on EE to exclusion of other things, that's not good. we need to multi-task: renewables, behavior changes...
How we excite people? Example - small company - created residential energy monitoring device allowing home owners to track own consumption. They didn't have good adoption. They created a contract between parent and teen. Parent buys the device, with the contract, they agree to give the teen half the money saves. Teen signs and then becomes the change agent advocating for energy efficiency. 15 year old is the change agent - they evangelize. What's the equivalent in other areas? How could this be carried over to commercial real estate, e.g., owner/tenant incentives - maybe revenue sharing?
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| Started By | Thread Subject | Replies | Last Post | ||
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| NasserBrahim | Our group's thoughts | 0 | Sep 16 2010, 4:48 PM EDT by NasserBrahim | ||
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Thread started: Sep 16 2010, 4:48 PM EDT
Watch
Solutions Statement Session
Our discussion began with group reflection on the MIT/SOL speaker’s Conversation Catalyst. Here is what group members thought: Energy efficiency is playing a critical role in catalyzing interest in changing corporate culture to be more environmentally responsible, particularly in terms of carbon emissions. Taking a bigger approach, like Six Sigma, and starting by eliminating waste and then, as a next step, taking elements of the business that create value and making them the best they can be, in terms of energy efficiency and carbon, have long term financial paybacks for corporations. Success starts by making a firm commitment towards environmental sustainability, carbon footprint reduction, and energy consumption reduction, and then being accountable and putting resources towards achieving central goals. Growing pains are common, but in time, corporations can have a stronger ability to reduce their impact. Paying the real price of energy, including externalities like environmental and human health impacts, can be the most important driver in getting companies to do big things in the energy efficiency space. This could really be spurred on by climate legislation, and absent of federal legislation, we have to look for regional cap and trade systems to lead the way, like New England’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the Western Climate Initiative (WCI). Unfortunately, California's referendum to roll back emission reduction goals until unemployment drops could set back potential transformational changes in the energy system of our countries largest energy consuming state. |
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