Legrand North America, the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures, kicked off Energy Marathon 2.0, a company-wide, internal competition designed to save as much energy as possible through ready-to-implement technology and process changes, and to reshape energy usage behaviors. Based on the first, very successful Energy Marathon held in 2014, this year’s marathon will have more locations participating and increased employee participation and innovation.
As a manufacturer, Legrand is acutely aware that energy efficiency is crucial to maintaining economic competitiveness and to reducing carbon emissions. Based on the idea that a marathon is 26.2 miles, the Energy Marathon brings energy efficiency to the forefront for a focused, 26.2-day period from October 3rd to the 28th.
“The concept of the Energy Marathon grew from an event in 2012, when Legrand asked more than 2,500 employees to ‘Power Down’ for a single, 24-hour period,” said Susan Rochford, VP, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability and Public Policy, Legrand, North America. “Our employees met that challenge and achieved a nearly 25% reduction in energy intensity across the company. But as the saying goes, it takes 21 days to create a new habit, so we decided to take our successful one-day event and evolve it into a marathon.”
Through friendly competition, facility managers and employees are motivated to find new and innovative ways to save energy. The ultimate goal of this nearly month long competition is to establish and sustain energy behavior changes, develop energy savings best practices that can be adopted permanently for long-term conservation practices.
“The success of the initial Energy Marathon in 2014 encouraged us to continue this tradition in the hope of saving more energy, further reducing our environmental footprint, and creating lasting behaviors for our employees in the office and at home,” said Jim Young, Legrand North America’s Corporate Energy Manager. “Energy Marathon 2.0 has the potential to make a lasting, positive impact.”
Energy Marathon 2014, with 18 participating corporate sites, had a total savings of 588,540 kWh and $46,732.00 on their electric bills. This year, with 22 participating Legrand locations across North America, the company expects to see some record-breaking numbers in energy savings.
New for 2016 are three winner categories for Best Performance within Manufacturing, Distribution, and Office spaces. All three categories will compete to be the winner of their business class by reducing their electricity use against a September 2016 baseline. Energy Marathon 2.0 winners will be announced in November, 2016.
To foster long-term energy reduction habits beyond the initial 26.2-day event, Legrand will continue to monitor the three building class winners as they compete for the top title of Energy Marathon 2.0 Champion. The winner among the three will be the site that sustains its energy savings performance over the following several months. The ultimate Energy Marathon 2.0 winner will be announced on Earth Day 2017.
