'No Matter the Industry, We'll Collaborate & Get This Thing Done': Quotes from the Conference

Notes from the Editor

If you made it to this year's Environmental Leader Conference, you know that it overflowed with energy, excitement, and a mountain of inspiration. But if not, you're in luck: Environmental Leader and Energy Manager Today have published nearly a dozen articles based on content from our terrific speakers (links below) that will give you ideas and practical take-always. But in addition to the informative sessions, keynotes, workshops and Lightning Talks (weren’t those great?), I’ve had snippets of overheard conversations running through my head all week that I wanted to share.

Here’s a sample of thoughts from some of the chats I took part in. It was exciting to hear what some of the great thinkers in the environmental management space are mulling these days:

“Of all the reasons for engaging in environmental management, I have found that brand reputation is the key.”

• “It seems that everyone in the room, across so many different industries, is ready to collaborate and form partnerships to get this sustainability thing done. These are exciting days in the space.”
• “Energy management is the major part of what we do from a sustainability standpoint. All opportunities to decrease energy intensity impact the business, and we’ve found that even small things make a difference.”
• “It’s better to make (and announce) goals, even if you don’t always meet them, than to not make any goals at all. Customers understand and appreciate it when you explain why you couldn’t meet the goals, but they want to know you’re trying.”
• "The current administration has not had a significant impact on us. In fact, maybe the current administration is not very favorable to the environment, but it has been favorable to business. We’re in a good business climate, so I don’t have to worry about them cutting my budget. We’re marching forward and looking forward to a good business environment, so now we can support or even pump more money into energy programs.”
• "When it comes to working up and down our supply chain, we’ve found it’s important to have forums, to engage with our suppliers eyeball to eyeball. If we just send emails to try to get on the same page in terms of energy management, they just go, ‘Ugh, survey fatigue.'”
• "We’ve found that technology is not the solution to all of our problems, but it can solve many of them.”

Learn More from the Experts

Below are links to the articles from Energy Manager Today and Environmental Leader that wrap-up the tactics, techniques and best practices that were shared at the conference:

From Energy Manager Today

How Harrah’s Las Vegas Saves $310,000 Annually with Retro-commissioning

Why Stakeholder Engagement is Vital in Terms of Water Stewardship

How IoT Affects Sustainability and ROI

How to Monetize Pig Manure and Other Opening Remarks

Implementing Zero-loss Thinking in Energy Management

Energy Manager’s Role in Meeting Environmental Goals

From Environmental Leader

United Technologies Grows Revenues, Expands Ops with Sustainability Initiatives

The Internet of Things Will Be Bigger than the Internet Itself

Marriott: Businesses Need to ‘Step Up’ Now that Washington Has Stepped Out

Regional EPA Leader Admits Regulators Are Now on a ‘Learning Curve’