STEP 1: IDENTIFY A SPECIFIC BEHAVIOR TO CHANGE
Atrium Health’s goals were to significantly reduce energy use in its medical buildings and shift the internal culture toward embracing effective energy management. In-depth workshops with facilities, maintenance, and engineering staff revealed that building operators were the best place to start the program. The workshops also pinpointed several specific behaviors, such as changing room temperature setpoints, that have significant energy impacts.
STEP 2: IDENTIFY BARRIERS & BENEFITS FOR THE TARGET AUDIENCE
Surveys and interviews with building operators revealed circumstantial barriers to changing behavior (e.g., a lack of a process for monitoring and resetting temperature setpoints) and psychosocial barriers (e.g., a lack of motivation or understanding to tackle energy challenges proactively).
STEP 3: BRAINSTORM, PRIORITIZE & SELECT BEHAVIOR CHANGE STRATEGIES
The team worked with staff and management to identify feasible and impactful strategies to reduce energy consumption and shift the internal culture of the organization toward an energy-saving mindset.
STEP 4: IMPLEMENT THE BEHAVIOR CHANGE STRATEGIES
Several interventions were implemented. For example, a process was implemented to tackle the small but impactful behavior of checking and resetting temperature setpoints. Staff were also provided the opportunity to participate in training to better understand and manage energy systems within their buildings—a chance to improve knowledge and provide motivation to building operators.
STEP 5: EVALUATE THE PROGRAM TO ITERATE AND IMPROVE
Surveys and energy assessments were conducted after implementing the program. In its first two years, the program saved roughly 5,510,266 kWh (US $307,136) across six original sites (2.5 kWh saving per square foot of building per year). Building operators also reported having more frequent conversations about energy savings, and they felt more supported by the organization to do energy-saving tasks
Importantly, the intervention was an enjoyable challenge and helped motivate building operators to act, helping shift the overall culture in the organization. It also spurred a movement among management toward systematic planning rather than reactive problem solving (supporting energy upgrade planning) and an improvement in employee engagement, satisfaction, and empowerment as they learned to manage energy effectively in their buildings.
(More details about the program and how it was evaluated are available here, here and here).
