That cleaner, greener world we all want is easy to envision—better air quality, cleaner water, an all-electric world that pulls that power from renewable sources rather than fossil fuels.

But the reality is: It’s difficult to figure out the definite, practical steps to get to that vision. There’s a lot of gray area and reliance on new technology coming to pass and regulations and standards falling into place—most of which have yet to be fully defined. So, a lot of our green energy future may depend on concepts and collaboration that aren’t quite in place just yet.

Indeed, the line between today and that shiny future may not be completely drawn, and we may have to take some steps in the process that are leaps of faith and a bit scary for both bottom line and return on investment.

The very first step on this path, however, is all about working with what we have in place today and how we can get what’s working for us right now to work even better. So, the very first step to that sustainable future is crystal clear: It’s energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency is the one clean/green project that’s immediately available and shows benefits right out of the gate—benefits for your company (in cash and energy savings) and benefits for the environment (in energy savings and emissions prevention).

That’s a pretty big—and pretty obvious—win/win for most people. And we’re certainly not alone in realizing this here at Allumia. A recent survey by Johnson Controls found that more than 60% of organizations are planning to increase investments in energy efficiency, and that is on top of the work they’ve already done in the area over the last year—including education programs, HVAC upgrades, and work in building automation and control.

Despite that willingness to invest, the same survey did mention one gray area: issues with scaling those initiatives. Still, companies will be pushed to figure out those issues by the one group of people that have the most power: the consumer. (Another survey by Next Energy Technologies found that companies who aren’t being proactive on climate are losing sales because of it. And a third by Stanford University has found there is a definable gap where Americans, in particular, can scale back on energy and still “live the good life,” as reported by NPR.)

So, three recent surveys this Spring have proven to all of us in the energy business that:

1. Energy efficiency’s valid place as the first step to a more sustainable future is accepted and being invested in with both time and money.
2. While there are still some unclear factors in the process of pushing energy efficiency out across organizations, the progress is not about to stall.
3. Whether your business is B2B or B2C, the prevailing customer sentiment will require you to move toward a greener footprint.

Here at Allumia, we’re happy to help you figure out those unclear factors, clear up that gray area, and manage those energy efficient steps forward. Let’s talk.

Lead art: Photo by Ashes Sitoula on Unsplash.

ABOUT ALLUMIA

Allumia is a market leader in the delivery of energy efficiency as a service (EEaaS) to the commercial sector with Skylight, a software platform that automates and optimizes the process of financing, metering, and maintaining projects.

Allumia’s EEaaS business model overcomes the two largest barriers to large-scale adoption of energy efficiency technologies—risk and capital constraints—creating a transparent partnership that results in shared savings.