Increasing energy efficiency can help insulate businesses from disasters

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have taught Wisconsin businesses a valuable lesson: You must be innovative to stay competitive.

While the long-term impacts of the hurricanes on energy costs are not yet known, most local businesses have been affected. Because the price of energy affects the cost of doing business every day - from gasoline to electricity - it plays a vital role in Wisconsin's ability to stay competitive and profitable, and to manage risk.

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But there are ways for businesses to manage the risks associated with natural disasters in other parts of the country: Incorporate energy efficiency and sustainable business practices.

Local businesses have an ally in Focus on Energy, a public/private partnership funded by customers of participating utilities. Our purpose is to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy, enhancing the environment and ensuring the future supply of energy in Wisconsin.

Despite the high costs associated with energy these days, many Wisconsin businesses are unaware of the resources available to help them become more efficient, more productive and more effective in managing risk.

Businesses in Wisconsin can contact Focus on Energy to learn how to implement energy efficiency to reduce energy consumption and their utility bills, creating a competitive advantage.

Where we build and how we build greatly affects our ability to stay competitive, and attract and retain the best and brightest people, while hedging our risks against natural disasters.

The "built environment," including commercial and residential structures, accounts for 48 percent of our national energy use, according to architect Ed Mazria, who is quoted in the summer 2005 edition of OnEarth, an environmental magazine published by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Buildings that incorporate high-performance green features, such as sustainable design and energy-efficient heating, cooling and lighting systems, can dramatically reduce our energy dependence.

The Focus on Energy Apartment and Condo Efficiency New Construction program provides local businesses with cash incentives and technical assistance on how to construct buildings that achieve high-performance green standards. Later this year, we will publish "Best Practices Guide for Multifamily New Construction" to further help our clients become more energy efficient. (Contact me to order a free copy upon publication.)

In one of the Focus on Energy projects, we worked with Porchlight Inc., a local developer of affordable housing, to help make its new multifamily construction project a state-of-the-art structure. Through cash incentives and technical assistance from Focus on Energy, Pheasant Ridge Trail Apartments, a 16-unit affordable-housing complex in Madison, will incorporate energy-efficient heating systems, compact fluorescent lighting and solar panels to provide electricity and to help heat water. By working with Focus on Energy, Porchlight was able to make the best use of its resources.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Administration, the state gets a net return of $6.56 for every dollar invested in Focus on Energy programs.

Because Wisconsin must import virtually all of its energy from out of state, every dollar Wisconsin spends on energy efficiency is a dollar that supports the local economy instead of going out of state to buy coal or natural gas.

Keeping money in Wisconsin saves jobs, increases personal income and makes our economy more efficient and competitive.

The less Wisconsin businesses must rely on outside resources, such as imported coal or natural gas, the more resilient our local economy will be when faced with natural disasters like hurricanes Katrina and Rita.