Green Business

The U.S. Department of Energy's 50001 Ready program recognizes facilities and organizations that attest to the implementation of an ISO 50001-based energy management system. The program is a self-paced, no-cost way for organizations to build a culture of structured energy improvement that leads to deeper and sustained savings that does not require any external audits or certifications. 50001 Ready partners with utilities and other organizations that support and facilitate the implementation of 50001 Ready energy management systems.

Estimating the energy impacts from clean energy policies and programs is a critical evaluation step that enables calculation of other benefits, such as reductions in greenhouse gases, air pollutants, and electricity demand. How this is done depends on whether the effort being evaluated aims to increase clean energy supply or reduce energy demand (i.e., energy efficiency).

Comprehensive database of state, local, utility, and federal incentives and policies that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. Established in 1995 and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, DSIRE is an ongoing project of the N.C. Solar Center and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council. Excellent resource for locating funding for energy efficiency projects.

The benefits of leasing energy-efficient space go beyond reputational enhancement. How much money would you save if your energy costs were just 10 percent lower? For a 50,000-square-foot-lease, a 10 percent savings could easily mean an extra $10,000 available for advancing your mission.

Covers all aspects of energy efficient buildings and equipment.

This handbook will give you the information you need to plan an energy-management strategy that works for your building, making it more energy efficient.

Energy Star, a cooperative effort of the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is the federal government's energy efficiency portal. Includes a wealth of information on all aspects of energy efficiency, including statistics.

Links to ENERGY STAR's most popular programs and resources for businesses.

Are you a small business owner, operator, or employee looking for ways to increase energy efficiency in your facility? Use these resources as planning guides for implementing cost-effective energy improvement projects for your business.

An Energy Treasure Hunt is a two- to three-day event that engages employees in identifying low-cost energy savings opportunities from behavioral, operational, and maintenance actions. This 31-page guidebook provides step-by-step guidance on how to organize and execute an Energy Treasure Hunt. Examples from ENERGY STAR partner organizations and checklists are provided to illustrate practices and help with implementation. This guide complements EPA's ENERGY STAR Guidelines for Energy Management.

Provides a general formula for estimating energy consumption of appliances, along with a list of typical wattages for various appliances.

This program assists federal agencies with using energy wisely. Includes information on purchasing energy efficient products, deploying renewable energy technologies, identifying funding opportunities, and inventorying and managing greenhouse gases. Although federal agencies are the target audience, these resources will also be useful to companies.

This report focuses on energy behavior programs in the workplace, which aim to reduce building energy use through change in employees’ attitudes and behaviors.

Meeting industrial lighting standards isn’t just about checking boxes, it’s about creating a safer, more productive environment for your team. Whether you’re managing a warehouse, manufacturing floor, or distribution center, the right lighting helps reduce accidents, improve task accuracy, and lower long-term energy costs. When lighting supports your operations, everything runs more smoothly..

Lighting manufacturers, through their trade association the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), maintains this web site as a one-stop source of information about recycling mercury-added “lamps” – the traditional industry terms for light bulbs.

Lighting controls can help save energy – and money – by automatically turning lights off when they're not needed, by reducing light levels when full brightness isn’t necessary, or otherwise controlling the lighting in and around your home or office. Common types of lighting controls include dimmers, motion sensors, occupancy sensors, and photosensors, and.timers. Before purchasing and using any lighting controls, it's a good idea to understand basic lighting terms and principles. Also, it helps to explore your indoor and outdoor lighting design options if you haven't already. This will help narrow your selection.

As more people choose to telecommute to work and school, PCs are increasingly becoming must-have home electronics. They’re a big part of how we communicate, create, research and play, and many households are finding that they’re adding more PCs – and using them more frequently. If there’s frequently one or more PCs running in your home, you may be wondering how much energy they’re consuming.

Introduction to how HVAC, thermostats, and ceiling fans work. Includes a checklist to ensure that all systems are properly set, which increases energy efficiency and saves money and resources.

This document provides standard definitions of performance metrics and methods to determine them for the energy performance of building interior lighting systems. It can be used for existing buildings and for proposed buildings. The primary users for whom these documents are intended are building energy analysts and technicians who design, install, and operate data acquisition systems, and who analyze and report building energy performance data. Typical results from the use of this procedure are

EPA recommends that consumers take advantage of available local options for recycling CFLs, fluorescent bulbs and other bulbs that contain mercury, and all other household hazardous wastes, rather than disposing of them in regular household trash.

Provides basic information about power and energy, along with examples of simple electricity and natural gas calculations, which are useful when trying to calculate baseline energy use.

When shopping, consider labels and features that can help ensure that you purchase appliances with a low operating cost. This page describes the most common energy labels and explains how to read them.

E3: Economy, Energy and Environment is a federal technical assistance framework helping communities, manufacturers and manufacturing supply chains adapt and thrive in today's green economy. EPA and five other federal agencies have pooled their resources to support small and medium-sized manufacturers with customized assessments. E3 is helping communities across the country reduce pollution and energy use while increasing profits and creating new job opportunities.