"Why are My Energy Bills Still So High?"

My good friend and mentor Mike Pappas is the world's best at divining the root causes of an organization's failure to tackle its energy waste. I described to him a large manufacturing facility that has been pondering energy management options for months now. Internal discussions among staff revealed general support for the IDEA of pursuing energy management, but when it comes down to DOING something, it is resisted as a distraction from their "normal" duties.

According to Mike, therein lies the disconnect. These people perceive energy management as something separate from-- and not integral to-- their daily operations.

These same people see safety (e.g. lock-out-tag-out procedures) as part of standard operating procedure. Can't energy be the same?