Contact Information: CONTACT: Darryll L. Fortune Johnson Controls Darryll.L.Fortune@jci.com (414) 524-7770 Abby Butt Godfrey abby@godfrey.com (717) 393-3831
Webcast From COP15 Summarizes Energy Efficiency-Related Discussion
CoreNet's "Energy and Climate Outlook" Survey Results Highlighted
| Source: Energy Efficiency Forum
MILWAUKEE, WI--(Marketwire - December 16, 2009) - The Energy
Efficiency Forum (EEF) co-sponsors the United States Energy
Association (USEA) and Johnson Controls, Inc.
(NYSE : JCI ) hosted "Live from Copenhagen," the second in a series of
webcasts designed to promote a year-round dialogue about energy efficiency
initiatives. Global experts from CoreNet Global, International Energy Agency (IEA), U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Johnson Controls and USEA discussed the unfolding events at
COP15 and the results of CoreNet Global's "Energy and Climate Outlook"
survey.
COP15 outcomes still unknown
The webcast was moderated by Barry Worthington, executive director, USEA.
Providing insights live from Copenhagen were Roger Platt, senior vice
president of Global Policy and Law, USGBC; Dr. Nigel Jollands, head, Energy
Efficiency Unit, IEA; and Clay Nesler, vice president of Global Energy and
Sustainability, Johnson Controls.
The panelists discussed what will come out of COP15. Jollands stated the
outcome of COP15 will be "less than perfect," while commenting that the
headlines will read "COP15 over, but not out," in reference to the number
of issues that won't be addressed in Copenhagen. Platt echoed his
sentiment, identifying "a gap" between "what people are willing to do and
what people are willing to agree to do."
"Energy and Climate Outlook" Survey Results
Michael Anderson, manager, Research and Knowledge Center for CoreNet
Global, participating in the webcast from Atlanta, presented survey results
which highlighted corporate real estate and workplace executives' thoughts
on the impact energy and climate issues have on their facilities.
About 100 corporate real estate leaders responded to the survey, which was
launched in October 2009. In part, the survey results revealed:
-- Despite the economic downturn, 60 percent of respondents have not
delayed carbon reduction projects within their organizations.
-- 38 percent of respondents see greenhouse gas legislation as an
opportunity as opposed to a risk for their organization.
-- 87 percent believe smart building technology will have the greatest
price/performance improvement in the next ten years compared to other clean
energy technologies.
-- 90 percent of respondents indicated that their companies are likely to
reduce carbon emissions without legislation.
"Among the top strategies for reducing a carbon footprint are improving
building efficiency, portfolio consolidation, promoting alternative work
strategies and renewable energy purchasing," Anderson noted.
Importance of energy efficiency in buildings
"Energy efficiency is a sweet spot for addressing climate change. Buildings
are the sweet spot in energy efficiency. The retrofitting of existing
buildings is the sweet spot for green buildings," said Platt. "In developed
countries, where 90 percent of all of the increased carbon emissions will
come from over the next 30 years, new buildings are an incredibly important
piece of the puzzle. For the real estate industry, we have opportunities
in the new building sector, as well as the existing building sector to be
part of the solution."
Jollands added, "When we are dealing with climate change issues, time is
not on our side. The problem is the stuff we are building now -- the
buildings, the roads, etc. -- will exist and be in place in 2030. Changing
that is too financially and politically expensive to do in a hurry. We're
not going to be able to retrofit and rebuild all of our buildings. So the
only strategy we've really got is to use energy efficiency. Energy
efficiency essentially buys us time."
Importance of measurement, verification and reporting
The panelists agreed the key to retrofit success will be the quality of the
technology installed and how effectively it is monitored.
"Countries are bragging about a lot of the things they are doing and that's
great, and maybe they are doing a lot of great things, but those things
need to be verified," said Platt. "We've tried to highlight those areas,
particularly in the operation of a building, that can be distilled down to
a common carbon metric in a way to talk a common language across all of
these different standards, so that we really know how much carbon we are
reducing when we do green buildings."
Compliance, monitoring, enforcement and evaluation of energy efficiency
measures also are addressed in the IEA's 25 energy
efficiency recommendations, referenced by Jollands. These
recommendations are a set of energy efficiency policies that IEA believes
every country should implement. After IEA developed the recommendations, it
evaluated several countries' participation. IEA concluded countries are
headed in the right direction, but are "only in second gear... and a whole
heap of energy efficiency potential is still not being captured. The two
big areas countries are not doing the most implementation are transport and
buildings."
For more information
To join the discussion and to view an archived version of the entire
webcast, including the Q&A session, visit http://www.eeforum.net.
Throughout COP15, Johnson Controls is blogging about conference
happenings and perspectives on the Energy
Efficiency Forum website, on www.GreenBiz.com and on www.YourEnergyForum.com. Short
updates also are available on Twitter.
Future Energy Efficiency Forum webcasts will provide timely information
about energy efficiency initiatives, technologies and best practices. The
next webcast is slated for the spring. Save the date for the 2010 Energy
Efficiency Forum -- June 15-16 in Washington, D.C.
About the Energy Efficiency Forum
The Energy Efficiency Forum, co-sponsored by Johnson Controls and USEA, is
the premier event that promotes an energy efficiency ethic through the
presentation of national and worldwide views on energy efficiency and the
resulting impact on the environment, national security and economic growth.
The 21st annual Energy Efficiency Forum will be held June 15-16, 2010 in
Washington, D.C.
About United States Energy Association
The United States Energy Association is the U.S. Member Committee of the
World Energy Council. USEA is an association of public and private
energy-related organizations, corporations, and government agencies. It
represents the broad interests of the U.S. energy sector by increasing the
understanding of energy issues, both domestically and internationally. In
conjunction with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S.
Department of Energy, USEA sponsors our nation's Energy Partnership
Program. Membership in USEA is open to all organizations having an interest
in the energy sector of the United States. For more information, please
visit http://www.usea.org/.
About Johnson Controls
Johnson Controls (NYSE : JCI ) is the global leader that brings ingenuity to
the places where people live, work and travel. By integrating technologies,
products and services, we create smart environments that redefine the
relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of 130,000
employees creates a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through
our products and services for more than 200 million vehicles, 12 million
homes and one million commercial buildings. Our commitment to
sustainability drives our environmental stewardship, good corporate
citizenship in our workplaces and communities, and the products and
services we provide to customers. For additional information, please visit
http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/.