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U.S. Rebates & Incentives Update: November 2019

Published Date

Schneider Electric helps organizations identify, qualify, pursue and obtain energy efficiency incentives. Each month our experts compile important news and notes. Here are your November rebates and incentives from around the U.S.

Is a Quadruple Bottom Line Emerging?

The research is out, the findings are definite: the energy efficiency of a building can reduce worker productivity costs. According to the Building Efficiency Initiative, “Even a small percentage gain in productivity, multiplied by the number of employees, can result in considerable savings.”

Comfort plays a key role in productivity, and the building environment’s role in creating comfort can be optimized through temperature control, indoor air quality, lighting, acoustics and design of the physical space. This conclusion is consistent with the Well Being Standard developed by International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™). In fact, the IWBI has developed more than 100 features or characteristics around building performance, employee well-being and productivity.

So, what does this have to do with rebates?

Energy and sustainability managers are often charged with making the case for funding energy efficiency projects. Employee productivity is emerging as an additional consideration in the ROI of decision-makers in health, retail, restaurants, office space and manufacturing. For some of these companies, triple bottom line is being replaced with a “quadruple” bottom line that includes employee productivity and well-being as a revenue consideration.

Developing quantifiable data on the relationship between energy efficiency and employee productivity involves creating a metric for measuring and monitoring results. One utility did this by quantifying the utility-provided savings and an employee productivity metric that included reduced absenteeism and associated health costs.

These two examples illustrate this concept:
 

Healthcare: 500,000-square-foot hospital with 1,400 employees

HVAC Upgrade = Utility provided savings of $84,000

  • Employee productivity (+1%) = $150 per employee for annual savings of $200,000
  • Employee health costs (-16%) = $450 per employee for annual savings of $600,000

Lighting Upgrade = Utility provided savings of $90,000

  • Employee productivity (+1.5%) = $300 per employee for annual savings of $420,000
Manufacturing: 50,000-square-foot facility with 100 employees

Lighting Upgrade = Utility provided savings of $10,000

  • Employee productivity (+1.0%) = $250 per employee for annual savings of $25,000
  • Fewer accidents (1 less every two years) = $36,000 per 30 employees for annual savings of $18,000
  • Employee health costs (-16%) = $450 per employee for annual savings of $45,000

 

For more information on how energy efficiency and utility rebates and incentives in North America can benefit your organization, join our free Rebate Update e-mailing list. Or, to capture energy incentive dollars you may be missing, contact a Rebates & Incentives Energy Analyst.