Plant Services - October 2007 - (Page 31)

energy eXPerT From the summit Here’s what energy management leadership looks like T his column has repeatedly emphasized the importance uted traditional and renewable energy sources and efficiency of visible senior leadership as a key to effective climate into smoothly functioning smart grids in Germany. and energy management. In the real world, the exact Opportunities in working with the public sector and meaning of this often can be nebulous, but sometimes you witgaining access to expertise and funding were eloquently disness an event that leaves no doubt about the commitment of a cussed by the Head of Efficiency from New York’s pioneercompany’s leadership to energy productivity as a way of life. ing Energy Research and Development Agency. The recent Energy Summit held at the headquarters of CornThe commitment and challenges that senior manageing Inc., Corning, N.Y., was such an event. ment will face in the future was the key topic of the Head A little more than two years age, Corning launched a Global of Climate Protection from EPA’s Energy Star program. Energy Management initiative with the goal to Literally days before, Energy Star announced achieve higher energy productivity. At its first a major new assessment of the challenges and The results are energy summit, managers from just about all opportunities of Next Generation Energy the company’s major facilities around the world Management (www.energystar.gov/index. already being gathered in a unique and stimulating way for an cfm?c=business.bus_energy_strategy). I urge measured in intensive two days of discussions about energy. you to put this material in front of senior demillions of Invited speakers collectively represented cision-makers. some of the most important aspects of in- dollars of energy Building on the theme of senior managenovative energy management from industry, ment challenges, the president of Owens productivity academia, and state and national governCorning’s global composites business undergains. ment. From the industrial side, a senior manlined the critical importance of energy proager from Toyota walked everyone through ductivity and climate management, not only its rigorous approach to ensure that the entire manufacturto the effectiveness of the business, but as major new market ing energy value chain constantly improves its energy peropportunities a changing energy scene is creating. formance, including a bold new vision for manufacturing Behind this outstanding program were clear messages plants that emit zero greenhouse gases. from the highest level of management in opening addresses The potential from heat recovery in all its aspects, includand keynote talks underlying the unequivocal commitment ing cogeneration, is too frequently overlooked. More than to long-term energy management to ensure reliable energy 25 years ago, BASF recognized both the productivity and supplies, economic gains and environmental enhancement. environmental potential and embarked on a systematic apOn its own, an event like this won’t deliver breakproach to integrate its production sites. The senior manager throughs. In this case, it represented a visible milestone on from the headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany exa systematic journey that is rapidly making professional enplained to the team how they had perfected the integration ergy management a way of life and a continuous source of tools and spread them to major sites across the world, yieldcompetitive advantage. By the way, the results are already ing hundreds of millions of dollars of value, massive envibeing measured in millions of dollars of energy productivity ronmental enhancement and competitive advantage. gains with associated reductions in environmental impact. To help the creative juices and make sure that emergWhen people ask me, “What does senior management ing developments in energy technology weren’t overlooked, commitment to strategic energy management look like?” Corning arranged for Cornell University to present the state one of my answers will be a description of Corning’s first of research of a multiplicity of new energy sources, with a Energy Summit. powerful focus on emerging biomass capabilities. The head of technology from MVV in Mannheim disPeter Garforth is principal of Garforth International LLC, Toledo, cussed advances in the integration of many highly distribOhio. He can be reached at garforthp@cs.com. October 2007 www.PLANTSERVICES.com 31 http://www.plantservices.com/voices/energy_expert.html http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=business.bus_energy_strategy http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=business.bus_energy_strategy http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Plant Services - October 2007

Plant Services - October 2007 Contents Monetize It Letters Step into the Blogosphere What it Takes to be a Leader Up and Running Crisis Corner What Works From the Summit Treat Them Right Access Control Out of the Woods Show Me, Don't Guess Condition Assessment Made Easy The Air Above the Floor Power to the Prime Movers In the Trenches Illuminating Maintenance

Plant Services - October 2007

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