Value at the Core

The SustainSuccess team have developed a widely-respected methodology for energy and resource efficiency programs – a methodology that has been at the heart of the enManage (TM) and Quest (TM) processes used to drive energy and resource efficiency over two decades in large and small organizations.

This methodology is called the “3Ms” from the three main constituents: Mandate, Method and Momentum.

At the center of the Framework is Value. Value describes the monetary worth of private companies, reflected in the interlinked elements of profit, equity price or asset valuation. Value also includes the notion of service effectiveness for public sector or not-for-profit institutions, which may mean simply increasing the capacity for service provision by reducing costs, or may mean delivering a better quality of service or meeting the wider needs of users. In essence, Value is shorthand for the principal measure of attainment of the organization’s core purpose.

The Framework set out here is based on experience gained in the implementation of many hundreds of programmes in industrial, commercial and public sector organizations over a period of 25 years. It is intended as a profoundly practical guide to help design and implement a successful resource efficiency programme. In keeping with the notion of resource efficiency as a process, the Framework is task-oriented, outlining a natural sequence of activities which will help ensure success. The Framework can be applied at any scale, from a single facility through to a global operation and is suitable for all types of organizations, public or private, profit or socially driven, service or manufacturing.

The Framework is conceptual rather than prescriptive: that is to say organizations are free – in fact encouraged – to adopt different terminology or use different methods for individual elements of the Framework. The Framework describes many interlocking components of a successful programme – such as management commitment – which should ideally be present in any approach to energy or resource efficiency. If these elements are already in place or can be achieved using different methods, then that is fine. At its simplest, the Framework is a checklist of best practice as well as a tool to diagnose – and hopefully remedy – factors that are impeding success.

The methodology is described in detail in Niall Enright’s textbook: “Energy and Resource Efficiency without the tears – the complete guide to adding value and sustaining change in an organization” which is available to download free of charge.