Congratulations to the visionary companies, utilities and collaborators joining this landmark effort to inform new standards for industrial energy management. The launch of the Northwest Energy Management Demonstration project marks a key step in the global shift toward profitable and sustainable energy standards for industry.
 
It is our mission to provide support, strategies and technologies to help companies and supporting utilities mobilize solutions with powerful projected benefits. The Northwest Energy Management Demonstration project begins during a turbulent time as world leaders strive to resolve energy challenges that impact all sectors. Industrial energy management systems and standards offer immediate solutions and sustained benefits, and you will be on the front line of change in the way industry manages and controls energy.

Just as Northwest businesses were among the first to sign the U.S. Department of Energy Save Energy Now Compact - which formalized a commitment to reduce industrial energy intensity by 25 percent in 10 years - they will be among the first to take concerted action toward achieving new energy management goals. By participating in the NW Energy Management Demonstration project, you are moving energy savings discussions into a strategic and measurable framework.

Your staff will work with our energy experts to establish and implement energy management practices designed to achieve continuous improvement for energy and cost savings. Companies that successfully complete the project will be among the first to qualify for pursuing ISO 50001, the new global standard for industrial energy that the International Organization for Standardization is scheduled to release in 2011.

As co-sponsors of this project, the U.S. Department of Energy and Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance share the belief that embedded energy management offers a path for controlling costs and maintaining a competitive market position. Along with our partners at the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, we promote a culture of energy efficiency and carbon management within industry.  Paired with the  adoption of advanced technologies, your company will see meaningful progress in reducing industrial energy intensity. We will work with you to embed energy efficiency into industrial business plans - from leadership to operational levels - to support continuous improvement of energy savings and sustainable practices.

We are confident that you, your companies and stakeholder communities will experience great value as a result.  Among multiple benefits, you can leverage energy savings to bolster workforce retention and cultivate new job categories.  Energy efficiency is also a primary plank for corporate sustainability strategies, enabling companies to operate efficiently and responsibly.

We look forward to working with all project collaborators and participants, and we encourage your continued dialogue and enthusiasm.

Sincerely,

Paul Scheihing
U.S Department of Energy,
Industrial Technologies Program

John Wallner
Senior Manager,
NEEA Industrial Sector