As part of the Department of Energy’s ongoing efforts to increase energy efficiency in buildings across the country, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) was recently awarded a three-year $750,000 grant to support its Retail Energy Management Program. RILA was one of eight recipients of the DOE’s total $6 million investment.
RILA’s Retail Energy Management Program project with DOE aims to drive energy and carbon reduction in the retail sector by improving retail energy managers’ ability to secure financing for efficiency projects. This is a foundational step toward realizing the $3 billion in potential energy savings estimated to be available to the industry.
“Ensuring that retail energy managers have the resources they need to implement energy projects is a crucial step in the journey towards operational efficiency and bringing value to the business,” said Erin Hiatt, senior manager of sustainability & compliance at RILA. “Ultimately, the work under the grant will increase retailer energy savings through the adoption of improved energy financial management strategies.”
RILA’s project will generate at least six financial management implementation models to illustrate how retailers can establish dedicated energy efficiency budgets, improve project proposal processes, improve finance team awareness of energy project value, improve project piloting processes, establish energy innovation funds, and leverage external financing where necessary.
“We are thrilled that the Administration has made this commitment and are ready to act on the investment,” said Hiatt. “That the DOE saw value in our program to contribute to their long-term energy goals is an honor.”
The project proposal was developed in partnership with The Institute for Market Transformation (IMT), Deloitte, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), MIT, and Schneider Electric.
RILA is the trade association of the world's largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad.
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