NYC DCAS
At a Glance
Industry
Government/Public Administration
Project Types
Engagement and Behavior Change, Sustainability and Energy Management Strategy
Year
2018
Location
New York, NY
Summary
Lucas Piazza performed a comprehensive analysis of New York City’s Energy Management Institute (“EMI”) training program, and recommended a set of targeted outreach strategies for EMI to increase the program’s reach and impacts.
Goals
The Energy Management Institute (“EMI”) program provides training to City building operations staff to implement energy management best practices in City buildings. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services’ Division of Energy Management (“DEM”) runs the program in collaboration with CUNY’s School for Professional Studies (“SPS”). DEM leads efforts to reduce emissions from City buildings and serves as the overall energy management hub for City government operations.
EMI is intended to support the City’s progress towards our ambitious emissions reductions goals, including 80 x 50 and 35 x 25, by empowering building staff to make critical energy-saving operational adjustments in their buildings. Upon the program’s tenth anniversary, DCAS DEM called on EDF Climate Corps Lucas Piazza to identify strategies to continue the program’s growth and evaluate its impacts.
Solutions
Undertaking a thorough analysis of ten years’ of program data, Piazza identified opportunities to strengthen the value proposition of EMI training for potential students, their supervisors, and agencies. He also defined pathways to increase enrollment by undertaking more targeted outreach to students based on their roles within their buildings and organizations. Finally, he identified a strategy to examine program impacts at building locations with concentrations of trained staff.
Potential Impact
Piazza’s recommendations will help support the EMI program’s continued growth, with the opportunity to perform targeted outreach to more than 5,000 additional City employees who are well-positioned to effect energy savings within their buildings.