McKinsey: Saving energy could have huge economic impact
Forget carbon footprint measures for a moment. How much money could be poured back into the U.S. economy if people spent more time worrying about wasted energy consumption?
McKinsey & Company has come up with a number in a new report about "unlocking energy efficiency in the U.S. economy." According to the consulting company, businesses have the potential to cut non-transportation related energy consumption by 23 percent between now and the year 2020. This translates into about $1.2 trillion, although it would require an upfront investment of about $520 billion to realize these savings.
According to McKinsey, the following will be central to realizing these savings:
- The declaration that energy efficiency measures are just as important to the national debate about energy consumption as are the development of alternative energy sources.
- The development of national and regional approaches to energy efficiency programs.
- Sources of funding.
- Better alignment between utilities, regulatory bodies, government agencies, manufacturers and consumers.
- Innovation in next-generation energy-efficiency technologies.
Click here for the press release about the report.
Click here to download an executive summary of the report (shorter version!).