NAM Offers Suggestions for Polices to Improve Energy Efficiency

The industrial sector is the single largest economic sector in the United States—so large, in fact, that if it were its own country, it would still be the 8th largest economy in the world. It also uses more energy than any other economic sector, which means that manufacturers have a unique stake in the future of energy policy and energy-saving initiatives in this country.

Fortunately, manufacturers have also been at the forefront of developing new energy-efficient technologies and processes to help reduce carbon footprints, save on energy costs, and just overall make the industry more efficient. Hence, while the industrial sector is still the number one consumer of energy in the United States, its total energy consumption has plateaued since 1975, while all other sectors continued to rise, sometimes by as much as 85%. This has been thanks to a combination of early adoption of energy-saving technologies and processes, innovation, and an overall understanding of the importance of energy to the future of manufacturing.

Toward that end, manufacturing advocacy groups have also played integral roles in developing energy policy on a national level. Recently, the National Association of Manufacturers’ (NAM) Energy Efficiency Task Force released a list of suggestions directed at the Department of Energy (DOE) for federal policies that they felt could help promote increased energy efficiency. The suggestions focused specifically on buildings, which use 40% of the total energy in the United States. Here’s what was on the list:

1. Promote consumer transparency through energy use labeling.
2. Improve and enhance the (voluntary) national database of energy consumption information used for generic benchmarking.
3. Encourage open access to data on energy usage and pricing.
4. Through partnership with the private sector, encourage research, development, and deployment of energy-efficiency standards.
5. Reduce government spending on energy by 15% by modernizing energy systems in government buildings.
6. Encourage private financing for energy efficiency in commercial and residential sectors through property tax repayment, public-private partnerships, and other mechanisms.
7. Provide an incentive for states to update building codes to be more energy efficient.

Manufacturers have a unique role to play in the movement toward increased energy efficiency in our country—and also a unique stake in seeing that it is handled responsibly and sustainably. Like any industry, manufacturing relies on energy, and increasing efficiency is not only the responsibility of all conscientious manufacturers, it just makes good financial sense, too.

As manufacturers strive to increase efficiency and productivity in every aspect of their processes, one thing that will always help keep things running smoothly is proper deburring machinery solutions. A burr in the system can cause losses in energy, productivity, and time, not to mention potential damages to machinery and other resources. That’s why at Cleveland Deburring Machine Company we’ve dedicated ourselves to providing the best and most efficient deburring solutions to all of our manufacturing clients, no matter what their needs may be.