The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) joins the international Clean Energy Ministerial in congratulating four U.S. companies selected to receive 2018 Energy Management Insight Awards: Google, Hilton, JW Marriott, and Nissan North America. These awards celebrate leading organizations that use the global ISO 50001 energy management system standard to attain enduring improvement in energy performance.

“The U.S. companies receiving this honor can take real pride in their facilities that are helping to drive global progress in energy management,” said Rob Ivester director of DOE's Advanced Manufacturing Office, “This award recognizes these companies for sharing their knowledge and experience so that organizations of all types and sizes can better understand how to improve their energy performance.”   

To qualify for these awards, one or more facilities within each organization established a robust energy management system and had it certified to the global ISO 50001 standard. They then published a case study that summarized their process and results. Winners were selected by an independent panel of international experts.

The winning U.S. companies represent a range of innovative, forward-thinking facilities:

• Google’s 13 large data centers recognized by the award used ISO 50001 to establish more structured energy management systems. The centers are located in six countries, with seven in the United States: Berkeley County, South Carolina; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Douglas County, Georgia; Lenoir, North Carolina; Mayes County, Oklahoma; Mountain View, California; and The Dalles, Oregon.
• Hilton sites contributing to the corporate award are spread across 103 countries, with more than 4,300 U.S. locations. Six of these sites acquired the additional distinction of earning certification to the Superior Energy Performance (SEP) program administered by DOE.
• JW Marriott earned the award on the merits of its ISO 50001 certified facility in Washington, DC, which also holds SEP certification for energy management achievements.
• Nissan North America, Inc. is honored for the energy management activities of its plants in Canton, Mississippi; Decherd, Tennessee; and Smyrna, Tennessee. All three of these sites took an enterprise-wide approach to also certify to SEP and are using the 50001 Ready Navigator to train new staff and to promote energy management practices across their supply chains.

The 2018 global competition attracted submissions from 50 organizations with facilities in 103 countries. Collectively, these organizations report annual energy cost savings of up to $383 million and emissions reductions of up to 4.3 million metric tons of CO₂—the equivalent of taking 916,000 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles off the road. View the full list of 2018 award recipients and their case studies.

The ISO 50001 standard is a framework to help organizations manage and continually improve their energy performance to reduce costs and emissions. Regardless of an organization’s size or sector, this framework helps achieve energy and cost savings year after year. ISO 50001 is a product of international collaboration, drawing on best practices from over 50 countries. The standard is proven to be business-friendly, globally relevant, and transformational, as it embeds best practices into any organization.

DOE’s 50001 Ready program represents another option that does not require any external audits or certifications; it is a self-paced, no-cost way for organizations to build a culture of structured energy improvement that leads to deep and sustained savings.

The Energy Management Leadership Awards are organized by the Clean Energy Ministerial Energy Management Working Group (EMWG), established in 2010. DOE supports the use of energy management systems through its 50001 Ready and SEP programs.