How does the energy efficiency of US manufacturing compare? We are joining the US Dept of Energy next week to find out...

If you're not aware of the great work that the US Department of Energy (DOE) are doing with their Better Plants Program, I'd highly recommend checking out what some of the leading US manufacturers are achieving with them or perhaps even joining them; myself; and Richard Taylor in Cleveland, Ohio next week for their annual summit.

With the DOE being a key partner in Manufacture 2030 and providing their extensive energy efficiency project expertise into our unique software tool - M2030 bee - we're delighted to be spending a week finding out exactly how well manufacturing facilities across the Atlantic are doing (compared to their counterparts that we're already working with around the world).

The DOE are partnering with almost 200 leading manufacturers and water utilities to improve energy efficiency and competitiveness in the industrial sector, saving lots of dollars in the process. Through Better Plants, partners voluntarily set a specific goal, typically to reduce energy intensity by 25% over a 10-year period across all their U.S. operations. Through a range of expert tools and training, they are helping to ensure their industrial heartlands are as competitive as can be and some of the collaboration they facilitate is amongst the best we've seen.

One session in particular we're looking forward to is with M2030 bee client - Al Hildreth and team at GM and their colleagues at L'Oreal. The two energy teams agreed to visit each other's facilities, helping one another save energy throughout their respective plants and you'll hear more about their findings in this session. You wouldn't normally expect an automobile maker and a cosmetics business to have much in common - but as we know well at Manufacture 2030 (and as the very fun/informative series of video episodes from their factory treasure hunt "swaps" below shows!) - it's the unusual knowledge-shares that can often be the most fruitful.

Next week in Cleveland, we're looking forward to meeting up with many friendly and new faces in the US manufacturing sector and are bringing with us some early results from our own energy efficiency research project into the size of the prize available for brands.

We're aiming to:

1) Hear how US manufacturers are tackling energy efficiency costs and what tools they need to make it even easier to be more competitive

2) Share some early results of our energy efficiency survey of manufacturers; begin to benchmark what is happening in different geographies; and understand what can be learned and shared to improve performance globally

3) Learn how our partnership with the US Dept of Energy could develop further to deliver more essential knowledge, data and recognition to US manufacturers and support their progress

If you're in the Cleveland area next week, do drop us a line and get in touch. We're getting together for a couple of lunch and dinner sessions and I'm sure you'd be welcome to join us too.

Oliver Hurrey

Executive Director, Manufacture 2030

[email protected]

+44 (0)7585 906123