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A new report by the Chambers for Innovation and Clean Energy (“a national, non-partisan clean energy network and information hub for local chambers of commerce”) highlights several clean energy success stories across the country.

As you will see in this pioneering report, local chambers throughout America are becoming unprecedented clean energy and innovation leaders. Some chambers have tackled enormous hurdles, such as leading the charge to modernize Chicago’s outdated electricity grid. Some have focused on increasing energy efficiency on a company-by-company basis, providing consulting to small businesses in places like Cleveland, Ohio, and Bartlett, Tennessee. Still others have sought to attract investment in renewable energy infrastructure and in the manufacture of new clean energy technologies.

A few specific examples of success stories include:

• “Modernizing Chicago’s Electric Grid: Chicagoland Chamber pushes for improved reliability for businesses with 21st-century smart grid”
• “Reaping the Wind in South Carolina: North Myrtle Beach Chamber ushers in the state’s first grid-connected wind turbine”
• “Building a National Clean-Tech Hub in Oil Country: Austin Chamber partners with utility and university to recruit clean energy talent and investment”
• “Fuel Savings and Cleaner Air in Salt Lake City: Salt Lake Chamber helps businesses save millions and improve air quality with clean energy program”

There are several more cleantech success stories described in the report, but the general concept is simple: “Local chamber executives know that American businesses can and should win the global clean energy race,” and are working to make that happen. With that objective in mind, the report “provides a guide for chambers in all U.S. regions looking for ways to help their member companies and communities engage in economic development opportunities associated with renewable energy, smart grids, electric vehicles, high-speed rail, energy efficiency, and shipping efficiency.” Good stuff.

This is fascinating, although in an exasperating sort of way.

...slap a message on the CFL’s packaging that says “Protect the Environment,” and “we saw a significant drop-off in more politically moderates and conservatives choosing that option,” said study author Dena Gromet, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

[...]

On the right, both climate change and questions about global limits on oil production have exited the realm of empirical debate and become full-blown fronts in the culture wars. You’re required to mock them regardless of whether it makes any sense. And it’s weird as hell. I mean, why would you disparage development of renewable energy? If humans are the ultimate creators, why not create innovative new sources of renewable energy instead of digging up every last fluid ounce of oil on the planet?

Once again, this reminds us that there’s an aggressive, ongoing effort by the fossil fuel lobby to push clean energy policy into the culture wars.  In this case, purchasing a more energy efficient light bulb – particularly if it costs no more than a standard, incandescent bulb – should be a relatively simple decision, certainly not one in which politics come into play. And yet, mention that the more energy efficient bulbs help the environment, and somehow the decision gets complicated by political and “values” considerations.

This isn’t just the case with light bulbs either, but also with clean energy, as J. Patrick Coolican points out. The pressing question for those of us in the clean economy, then, is how to combat this phenomenon. It’s also a pressing question, we’d add, for politicians who understand the urgent – even existential – need for our country to develop abundant energy that’s clean and cost-effective.

Cross posted from Tigercomm

Recently, Greentech Media (GTM) highlighted a new report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and CNT Energy on the enormous potential for energy efficiency in the U.S. multi-family housing market to save money and electricity. GTM notes that the United States “has about 18 million apartments, condos and other dwellings in buildings of five units or more, representing nearly $22 billion a year in energy costs for building owners and residents alike.” And, “if existing best-practice utility efficiency programs could be expanded nationwide, the CNT-written, ACEEE-supported report finds, the country as a whole could realize a $3.4 billion-per-year benefit in increased energy savings – and that’s not counting improvements yet to come.”

That’s a significant potential for savings, as well as reductions in energy usage and pollution. The problem is that too few people know about the tremendous return on investment that energy efficiency can provide. This creates an opportunity for communicators to develop the right message about this value and communicate it to potential customers.

Of course, the potential for gains doesn’t always mean that they’re actually realized. As the above graphic illustrates, actualizing potential energy efficiency gains will require a number of actions. In its report, ACEEE discusses nine actions. The one that jumped out at us stressed the importance of utilities and energy service companies (ESCOs) engaging industry stakeholders – affordable housing developers, facilities managers of multi-family dwellings, public housing entities and housing advocates, etc.

From a marketing communications standpoint, we recommend several strategies including:

• Be clear: Develop a concise message of the value of efficiency for consumers;

• Be targeted: Identify the right stakeholders, then identify what sources of media (both on-and offline) are consumed by this audience;

• Be engaging: Establish an ongoing, two-way conversation with multi-family industry players and influentials through select social media platforms;

• Be a thought leader: Go after speaking opportunities, award nominations and article submissions to build awareness about the value of energy efficiency and your company’s market leadership; and,

• Be interesting: Package your information in attention-grabbing ways, like infographics or a data dashboard, and tie it back to the value of energy efficiency to increase SEO and drive earned media coverage.

Fortunately, some of this appears to be happening already. For instance, this article in the commercial/multi-family construction trade publication Building Design + Construction discusses the Atlanta Housing Authority’s (AHA’s) selection of Johnson Controls Inc. “to begin energy-efficiency upgrades to nearly 2,000 units across 13 senior residential care facilities,” part of an effort that “is expected to save AHA nearly $18 million over the next 20 years, and will be paid for by energy savings so that no upfront costs will be paid by the housing authority.”

Another example comes from Honeywell, which is leading a residential energy efficiency project in Minneapolis, as discussed in this article by Smart Planet. The story quotes the head of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA), Emilio Battaglio, and Honeywell’s Building Solutions Division President, Paul Orzeske, talking about the importance of communicating with consumers on the advantages of energy efficiency upgrades. Bettaglio, for instance, stresses that “MPHA tenants in these buildings are partners in this deal,” and that MPHA is “developing training for them to elevate [their] level of awareness” and make them “more conscious about [energy] consumption.” For his part, Orzeske stresses the need for “not only empowering residents to use the technology but [also] educating them on why changes in behavior are important.”

As you can see from these examples, energy efficiency gains in multi-family housing units can be a win-win for everybody involved. The companies that will be poised to win market share are the ones that develop an aggressive and creative plan to communicate the value of energy efficiency to consumers.

There’s been a great deal of talk in recent years about how the boom in natural gas production in the United States, combined with the low price of U.S .natural gas, could lead to a manufacturing – and possibly broader economic – renaissance in our country.  Except for one problem: according to this New York Times article, it’s probably not going to happen. Why not?

…glass industry veterans say cheaper natural gas, which is used to melt sand into glass and is critical to the manufacturing process, isn’t a game changer in terms of jobs, however beneficial the cost savings are. Pressure from inexpensive imports remains intense, and labor in Mexico and China is still cheaper than in the United States.

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Glass isn’t the only manufacturing sector that has struggled to add jobs recently. Other industries identified by American Chemistry Council as potential winners from the energy boom, like paper producers and foundries, have continued to lose jobs in recent months.

It’s not that manufacturing itself is disappearing. But nearly all of the American manufacturers that survived the lean years of the last decade are globally competitive companies that depend on high productivity and advanced technology for their success more than masses of assembly line workers.

It’s also worth noting that it takes a lot less energy to produce a dollar of economic output in the U.S. today than it used to. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2012 it took 7,000 Btu of energy to produce 1 “real” (e.g., inflation adjusted) dollar of GDP. This is down from 10,000 Btu per dollar of GDP in 1995, and around 14,000 Btu per dollar of GDP in the late 1970s. This means that the impact of cheaper energy on the U.S. economy is much less than it used to be. Generally speaking, that’s a good thing, as it means we’ve gotten a lot more energy efficient. However, in terms of lower energy prices giving the U.S. economy a big boost, it’s a lot less likely to happen today than 10, 20, 30 years ago.

Note: This flow chart was modeled after Slate’s How to Win Any Climate Change Argument (March 4, 2013). Please click to enlarge.