Industrial bakery, chromium plating and building example (part of US DOE presentation)

Jan 2021 [Cases & examples, External reports]
This presentation, given by Dr. Catherine Cooremans at the US DOE Better Buildings webinar on 12 January 2021, outlines the multiple benefits logic and method. Several examples are included, an industrial bakery in Switzerland, renovation and optimization of chromium plating facilities, and renovation of windows and lighting in an office building, which show how the approach identifies and quantifies competitive (non-energy) benefits including: improved employee comfort, process safety, better customer service, employee satisfaction and loyalty, reduced risk (health, legal, commercial), increased operational efficiency, lower costs, and enhanced financial attractiveness.

Multiple benefits toolkit

Aug 2020 [Graphics & illustrations, Training materials & tools]
This graphic illustrates the overall logic and process of the Multiple Benefits toolkit, which will be made publicly available in January 2021.

Multiple benefits approach vs. traditional

Dec 2019 [Graphics & illustrations]
This graphic illustrates the differences between the traditional energy engineering-dominated manner of developing project proposals versus the Multiple Benefits approach.

Multiple benefits competitive advantage (Value, Cost, Risk)

Dec 2019 [Graphics & illustrations]
This graphic illustrates the three dimensions of competitive advantage: value proposition and the costs and risks borne by the company to create the value proposition for the customer.

Multiple benefits process (step-by-step)

Dec 2019 [Graphics & illustrations]
This illustration shows the Multiple Benefits approach starting with 1. Company analysis, 2. Energy and operations analysis, 3. Strategic analysis (value, cost, risk), 4. Financial analysis and 5. Communication of proposal. Practitioners of the Multiple Benefits approach use the latest Energy Audit as a key input, as well as tools to help guide the Energy Manager through the steps and finally to tailor the presentation of the project to the interests of the investment committee.

Industrial high-precision mechanical example

Nov 2019 [Cases & examples]
This is a case study applying the Multiple Benefits approach to an industrial company focused on high-precision mechanical work. The suggested project involved changing the milling washer water supply by switching from municipal cold water supplied at 20°C to domestic water at 55°C (heated by recovering waste heat from compressed air production). Supplying the milling washers with water at 55°C presents two major advantages: 1) thermal shocks due to cold water are eliminated, as well as the related risks of tank splitting, which has a disruptive effect on production; 2) the two storage tanks are no longer necessary, since water heating from 55 to 75°C only takes a short time. Therefore formic acid (a highly dangerous chemical used to clean the storage tanks) can be removed from the factory. Increased staff safety (lethal product no longer used), production reliability (reduced breakdowns) and higher productivity (reduced time dedicated to tank washing and replacement) are the major benefits of this energy-efficiency measure, identified by the energy-efficiency experts. In addition several costs are reduced: equipment cost (tanks, formic acid and protection equipment), maintenance cost (tank replacement after splitting), water and energy costs. Non energy benefits (NEBs) thus significantly improve the financial attractiveness of this investment.

Metal surface treatment industry example

Nov 2019 [Cases & examples]
This is a case study applying the Multiple Benefits approach to an metal surface treatment company, First Industries, located in Switzerland. The project involved the replacement of rectifiers with new, highly efficient units. Key multiple benefits identified and valued in the analysis include more stable product quality, higher production capacity (higher accuracy), space gain, reduced raw material use, less material waste along with reduced energy, cooling water and labor costs.

Value multiple benefits - Improve energy efficiency!

Aug 2019 [Academic papers]
Multiple Benefits is an approach to identify, value and communicate the strategic impacts of investments that improve energy performance. In this context strategic means how an energy-efficiency project contributes to an organization’s competitiveness in performing their core business. This paper presents the underlying methodology and the toolkit developed to test in pilot projects during the course of the Multiple Benefits project.

Play the game: learning about energy efficiency can be fun – seriously!

Jun 2019 [Academic papers]
Classical training does not develop the skills needed to deal with the multidisciplinary aspects of energy-efficiency measures. It is also well known in pedagogical science that in professional training, the motivation for learning increases when participants can directly apply what they are taught. This paper introduces a new serious game developed as a training tool for a capacity-building programme on the multiple benefits of energy efficiency.

Multiple benefits of energy efficiency at the firm level: a literature review

Jun 2019 [Academic papers]
The multiple benefits of energy efficiency for individual businesses have not received sufficient research attention. For firms, these non-energy benefits may be critically important to their investment decisions. This paper presents initial results from a project investigating the firm-level strategic benefits of energy efficiency.

Training tools

[D4.3 Training tools]

Feb 2019 [Training materials & tools, Multiple Benefits Reports]
This report provides the basis for the Multiple Benefits Training Tools and course material to be used to train professionals (mainly energy experts) in how to apply the methodology. These educational tools will be used in workshops, webinars and online courses throughout the course of the project.

Tips and solutions for effective communication to decision-makers

[D4.2 Tips and solutions for effective communication to decision-makers]

Feb 2019 [Training materials & tools, Multiple Benefits Reports]
This document aims to provide tips and guidance to help energy experts communicate energy saving projects effectively to upper management decision makers. The guidance considers the decision-making context, influences, and motivational techniques to guide people and organisational behaviour.

Summary of Multiple Benefits analysis tools

[D4.1 Multiple Benefits Identification and Evaluation Tools]

Feb 2019 [Training materials & tools, Multiple Benefits Reports]
This summary outlines the Multiple Benefits analysis and communication tools. It shows screen-shots of an Excel-based toolkit that will be made available via Multiple Benefits trainings and pilot projects during the course of the project. The actual Excel-based toolkit will be made available as a separate publication in 2020-21.

Multiple Benefits Serious Game

[D4.4 Multiple Benefits Serious Game]

Feb 2019 [Multiple Benefits Reports, Training materials & tools]
The Serious Game is one of the project’s main training tools. It will be used for training purposes during workshops, webinars or online courses. This final report presents some of the main aspects of the developed Serious Game.

Building 4 People: Quantifying the benefits of energy renovation investments in schools, offices and hospitals

Nov 2018 [External reports]
The health, well-being and performance of people depend to a significant degree on the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of buildings, given that people spend approximately 90% of their time indoors. This study aims to quantify and value the benefits of factors that contribute to indoor environmental quality resulting from energy renovation or construction of high performance buildings.

Practitioners guidelines to identify multiple benefits

[D2.2 Guidelines for Protocols, Interventions and Evaluations]

Aug 2018 [Multiple Benefits Reports]
This document summarises the key findings from a ‘rapid evidence assessment’ literature review with the aim to enable practitioners to identify the multiple benefits of energy efficiency or energy management investments which also offer strategic benefits to the firm.

Questionnaire to assess multiple benefits of energy efficiency measures

[D3.1 Questionnaire]

Jul 2018 [Multiple Benefits Reports]
A questionnaire was developed to harmonize data collection across firms and countries in order to assess the associated multiple benefits of energy efficiency measures and to gain insight in the perception of multiple benefits in companies and their role in decision-making.

Literature review findings

[D2.1 Literature Review - methodology and preliminary findings]

Jun 2018 [Multiple Benefits Reports]
Authors: Tina Fawcett, Gavin Killip, University of Oxford. This report from June 2018 is project deliverable D2.1. It aims to bring together the best available evidence to support the contention that a multiple benefits framing can be persuasive for individual firms, projects and investment decisions.