Industries in Focus

To create momentum for energy performance improvements within individual manufacturing sectors, EPA organizes ENERGY STAR Industrial Focuses. Focuses provide industry-specific energy management tools and resources, develop the corporate structure and systems to better manage energy, and reduce energy use within an industry.

Participation is voluntary; however, most companies welcome the opportunity to network with peers. Generally, focuses enjoy the participation of most of the major companies within an industry.

What do Focuses accomplish?

Focuses build upon the energy management resources available through ENERGY STAR, and within an industry:

• Engage energy managers in discussions of strategic, corporate energy management
• Provide tools to enhance energy management and performance
• Uncover energy-saving opportunities and practices
• Encourage sharing of energy management techniques

2003 Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Focus Meeting, hosted by General Motors Corporation

Industry-Specific Energy Management Tools & Resources

Meetings for Networking & Practice Sharing

Focuses offer an opportunity for an industry’s corporate energy managers to discuss barriers they face and the strategies for minimizing them. Energy managers benefit from:

• An annual meeting hosted by a company in the industry
• Regular industry communication

Plant tour as part of an annual meeting

Information-sharing

Energy Guide — Opportunities for Improving Energy Efficiency in a Focus Industry

EPA provides an ENERGY STAR energy guide for each industry. The guide is a resource on trends in energy use and energy intensity in the industry as well as a systematic analysis and discussion of the energy efficiency opportunities in the manufacturing plants. Energy managers use the guide to: identify areas for improvement, evaluate potential energy improvement options, develop action plans and checklists for the energy program, and educate company employees. Energy guides are developed by EPA and supported by the research skills of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in coordination with the industry.

Plant Energy Performance Indicator

Of the major elements comprising a sound corporate energy management program, benchmarking energy use is one of the most important because it empowers corporations to set goals for improvement and monitor progress. Through ENERGY STAR, EPA offers plant energy performance indicators (EPI) to enable energy managers and corporate executives to evaluate the energy efficiency of their plants relative to that of the industry.

Managers input key plant operating data to receive an energy efficiency rating for a plant on a scale of 1 to 100. The EPI, derived from non-public data provided to the Census Bureau, is developed by EPA and supported by the analytical skill of Duke University. It is a critical management tool for evaluating how efficiently a plant is using energy compared to the industry nationwide. In addition to reporting a score for the plant, the EPI also provides information on the average and “efficient” plants in the U.S. Efficiency is defined as the 75^th percentile of all plants.

EPIs are currently available for:

• Cement Manufacturing
• Corn Refining
• Motor Vehicle Manufacturing