Public sector leadership: Transforming the market for efficient products and services

Jeffrey Harris, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Bernard Aebischer, Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology
Joan Glickman, Federal Energy Management Program
Gérard Magnin, Energie-Cités
Alan Meier, International Energy Agency/OECD
Jan Viegand, Jan Viegand Analysis and Information

Keywords

public sector, government energy use, market transformation, municipal government energy efficiency, procurement, new buildings, existing buildings, public facilities and infrastructure

Abstract

The public sector represents a significant share of all economic activity (15-25%) in Europe's industrial and transition economies. Government agencies, often the largest energy users and the biggest buyers of energy-using equipment, have significant potential to reduce energy use in their facilities and operations, while also saving taxpayer dollars and avoiding emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Public sector leadership can be the first step toward market transformation, as government creates entry markets and sets an example for other sectors to adopt efficient technologies and practices (Van Wie McGrory et al. 2002).

While public sector energy efficiency has not been highlighted in EU or IEA policy compilations, many government agencies from the national to the municipal level have acted to reduce their own energy use, stimulate market demand, and provide an example to others through intergovernmental networking. Several EU projects have addressed the use of government buying power to help commercialize new technologies and to increase the market share of efficient appliances. However, additional steps are needed in order to establish public sector energy efficiency as a core element of energy and climate change policy in Europe.

Based on a selected review of public sector energy efficiency activities in the EU we define five program categories:

Policies and targets (energy/cost savings; pollution/CO2 reductions; measurement and verification; tracking and reporting)

Public buildings (energy-saving retrofit and operation of existing facilities, as well as sustainability in new construction)

Energy-efficient government procurement

Efficiency and renewable energy use in public infrastructure (transit, roads, water, and other public services)

Information, training, incentives and recognition of leadership by agencies and individuals

We discuss examples of program success, lessons learned, and future initiatives to strengthen these activities through increased recognition of the leadership role of public sector energy efficiency, information-sharing and c ollaboration, coordinated procurement to aggregate buyer demand, building energy performance benchmarking, and the development of international standards of practice for public sector energy management. The EU can also play an important role, through its foreign assistance activities, in promoting the broader international acceptance of public sector energy efficiency.