LEADERS Customer Survey

DRAFT LEADER Survey Questions
May 16, 2011

Preamble:

Dear [LEADER company name],

ITP values your company’s participation in the Save Energy Now LEADER program (LEADER). As we plan next steps for the program, we would like to hear from you about your experience with LEADER, why you joined, the main benefits of the program, and areas you believe could be improved.

We designed a brief customer satisfaction survey which we are distributing to all LEADER Companies in order to collect feedback on these important questions. Please complete the survey by [three weeks from point of distribution]; your answers will be very valuable to us. The survey consists of 17 questions which we estimate will take about 25 minutes to complete. We thank you in advance for your time. Please contact Andre de Fontaine (andre.defontaine@ee.doe.gov, 202-586-6585) with any questions about the survey or process.

Survey responses will be used for internal purposes only; they will not be made public.

Please provide contact information below (if you would rather remain anonymous, you may leave this section blank):

Company name

Contact name

Contact email address

Contact phone number

Survey Questions

1. Which of the reasons listed below are reasons your company joined the LEADER program (check all that apply):

• Access to assessments conducted by Department of Energy energy experts

• Opportunity to network with and learn from other LEADER Companies

• Access to DOE software tools and publications

• Access to training and webinars

• Access to technical assistance provided by DOE’s Technical Account Managers (TAMs)

• Opportunity to receive recognition for meeting energy intensity goals

• Opportunity to be part of a national effort to reduce U.S. energy use and improve U.S. competitiveness

• Other (please specify):

2. Please rate the importance of each of the following reasons your company joined the LEADER program:

1=Very Important; 2=Somewhat Important; 3=Neither Important nor Unimportant; 4=Unimportant; 5=Very unimportant

• Access to assessments conducted by Department of Energy energy experts

• Opportunity to network with and learn from other LEADER Companies

• Access to DOE software tools and publications

• Access to training and webinars

• Access to technical assistance provided by DOE’s Technical Account Managers (TAMs)

• Opportunity to receive recognition for meeting energy intensity goals

• Opportunity to be part of a national effort to reduce U.S. energy use and improve U.S. competitiveness

• Other (please specify):

3. Now that you have some experience with the LEADER program, please tell us which of the following LEADER resources your company has used. Check all that apply:

• Assessments conducted by Department of Energy energy experts

• Networking opportunities to learn from other LEADER Companies

• DOE software tools and publications

• Training and webinars

• Technical assistance provided by DOE’s Technical Account Managers (TAMs)

• Recognition for meeting energy intensity goals

• Other (please specify):

4. How useful do you find each of the following resources?

1=Very Useful; 2=Somewhat Useful; 3=Neither Useful nor Not Useful; 4=Not Very useful; 5= Not Useful at all

• Assessments conducted by Department of Energy energy experts

• Networking opportunities to learn from other LEADER Companies

• DOE software tools and publications

• Training and webinars

• Technical assistance provided by DOE’s Technical Account Managers (TAMs)

• Recognition for meeting energy intensity goals

• Other (please specify):

5. Please identify and rank the three resources you believe are in most need of improvement, (with one being most in need of improvement, and three the least):

• Assessments conducted by Department of Energy energy experts

• Networking opportunities to learn from other LEADER Companies

• DOE software tools and publications

• Training and webinars

• Technical assistance provided by DOE’s Technical Account Managers (TAMs)

• Recognition for meeting energy intensity goals

• Other (please specify):

6. Which of the factors listed below are factors driving your company’s energy efficiency efforts?

• Commitment to reducing organizational operating costs

• Commitment to energy and environmental sustainability

• Anticipation of future greenhouse gas regulations

• Other (please specify):

7. How important are each of the following factors in driving your company’s energy efficiency efforts?

1=Very Important; 2=Somewhat Important; 3=Neither Important nor Unimportant; 4=Unimportant; 5=Very Unimportant

• Commitment to reducing organizational operating costs

• Commitment to energy and environmental sustainability

• Anticipation of future greenhouse gas regulations

• Other (please specify):

8. Which of the factors listed below are factors preventing your company from implementing a greater percentage of energy efficiency projects? Check all that apply.

• High upfront capital requirements

• Low projected financial returns

• Other corporate priorities take precedence

• Lack of technical information

• Lack of engineering personnel to implement and manage projects

• Project leads to unacceptable process changes

• Project requires new technology that is deemed too risky

• Resistance to change from employees

• Other (please specify)

9. How important are each of the following factors in preventing your company from implementing a greater percentage of energy efficiency projects

1=Very Important; 2=Somewhat Important; 3=Neither Important nor Unimportant; 4= Unimportant; 5=Very Unimportant

• High upfront capital requirements

• Low projected financial returns

• Other corporate priorities take precedence

• Lack of technical information

• Lack of engineering personnel to implement and manage projects

• Project leads to unacceptable process changes

• Project requires new technology that is deemed too risky

• Resistance to change from employees

• Other (please specify)

10. Has the LEADER program led to an increase in the number of energy efficiency projects implemented by your company?

• Yes (go to 10a then 10b)

• No (go to 11)

10a. How many additional projects are currently being implemented as a result of the LEADER program? (Please provide your response in percentage terms; estimates are acceptable)

• Less than 25%

• 25-50%

• 51-75%

• Greater than 75%

10b. How important are each of the following LEADER services to improving your implementation rate for energy efficiency projects?

1=Very Important; 2=Somewhat Important; 3=Neither Important nor Unimportant; 4=Unimportant; 5=Very Unimportant

• Energy Savings Assessments (ESAs) and/or Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) assessments identified projects we would not have otherwise found

• ESAs and/or IAC assessments confirmed or validated energy savings projects we were previously considering

• Software tools helped us identify and evaluate projects

• LEADER Pledge target provided plant or corporate-wide motivation to implement more projects

• Technical Account Managers directed us to new resources that helped us successfully implement projects

• Case studies, tip sheets, and other best practice resources available on the ITP web site gave us new ideas for energy saving projects and processes

• Other (please specify):

11. What is the primary financial metric your company uses to evaluate energy efficiency projects? (Mark only one)

• Simple payback

• Discounted payback

• Net present value

• Internal rate of return

• Other (please specify):

11a. Why do you use this metric? (open ended question, max characters will be indicated):

12. Which of the following statements apply to your financial decision-making process on energy efficiency projects? Please check all that apply.

• We treat energy efficiency projects the same way we treat all other capital investment projects

• We apply a lower hurdle rate to energy efficiency projects

• We apply a higher hurdle rate to energy efficiency projects

• We establish a separate pool of capital reserved for energy efficiency and/or sustainability projects

• We have used third-party sources of financing to fund energy efficiency projects

• We sometimes fund projects with relatively long payback terms (greater than 3 years)

• We apply for utility-based incentives to help fund energy efficiency projects

13. Do you use the Save Energy Now logo or brand in your public relations/corporate sustainability materials?

• Yes (Continue to 13A)

• No (Continue to 14)

13A. How often do you use the Save Energy Now logo or brand in your public relations or/ corporate sustainability materials?

• Very Often

• Often

• Sometimes

• Never

14. Has your company deployed any new energy efficient technologies as a result of the LEADER program?

• Yes

• No

15. Please rate how useful you believe the following potential new resources would be:

1=Very Useful 2=Somewhat Useful 3=Neither Useful nor not Useful 4= Not Very Useful 5=Not Useful at all

• Greater emphasis on alternative financing opportunities

• Development of supply chain tools and resources

• ITP-sponsored conferences and workshops to support industry’s efforts to improve energy efficiency and U.S. competitiveness

• Greater and/or more frequent recognition of energy efficiency accomplishments

• Support on product and/or process R&D opportunities for my organization

• Closer interaction with other government agencies, such as EPA ENERGY STAR, Department of Commerce, state energy offices, etc.

• Better support and analysis on U.S. energy policy and its impact on industry

• Other (please specify):

16. What is your overall satisfaction with the LEADER program?

1= Very Satisfied; 2 = Somewhat Satisfied 3 = Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied; 4 = Dissatisfied; 5 = Very Dissatisfied

17. Please provide any other feedback you might have on the LEADER program:

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