Holistic Implementation of a Sustainable Energy Management Programme

Energy efficiency measures employed by organisations are typically focused on energy-saving measures that are largely technical by nature; aimed at containing the effects of rising costs. In the absence of holistic and systemic changes, these technical measures may not be sustainable.  As a result, the benefits that can be derived from the piece-meal implementation energy conservation measures can be marginal. This paper highlights a holistic approach for implementing effective and sustainable energy management programme (SEMP) that is multi-disciplinary by nature and considers aspects of managerial, capacity building as well as technical. This entails the integration of the SEMP into an organisation’s structure and practice in order to sustain energy efficiency practices and hence, cost savings.  Holistic implementation of the SEMP in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) that comprises of 22,000 students and 3000 staff enabled UTM to sustain an average of 15% energy savings in the last five years.