August 4, 2008—The American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) and Johnson Controls, global creators of smart and sustainable environments, have announced new research on energy efficiency in healthcare. The results show that healthcare executives place a higher priority on energy efficiency than executives in other industries, and are also more likely to expect to make improvements over the coming year.
Johnson Controls and ASHE commissioned the 2008 Healthcare Energy Efficiency Indicator study, which surveyed 335 energy decision makers in the healthcare industry in March 2008. A parallel, multi-industry study, the Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator, polled 1,150 North American executives in partnership with the International Facility Management Association (IFMA).
The joint study indicates that healthcare executives place greater importance on energy efficiency than others. Only 57% of respondents to the multi-industry study called energy efficiency “extremely important” or “very important,” compared with 65% of healthcare respondents. Healthcare organizations are consequently more likely than companies in other industries to invest in energy efficiency.
Two thirds (67%) of healthcare organizations reported plans to spend capital on energy efficiency this year, compared to 56% in the multi-industry survey. Moreover, healthcare organizations will tolerate a longer payback period (4.2 years) on energy efficiency projects than other industries (3.6 years).
Survey respondents project energy price increases of 11% this year. On average, healthcare organizations will spend 8% of their capital budgets and 6% of their operating budgets to conserve energy over the coming year. Their drive toward energy efficiency is motivated primarily by cost, with 59% of respondents saying that the need to control costs is a greater motivator than environmental responsibility.
