Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, today announced that Merck, a leader in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, has launched Energy University™ to educate its employees around the world on energy efficiency.
“Whether an employee is interested in simply learning more about energy efficiency, or would like to take advantage of new opportunities in the energy management field, Energy University offers tools and information for everyone – at no cost,” said Tom Pagliuco, Director, Global Energy & Sustainability Center of Excellence, Merck.
Energy University is a free online program, featuring more than 350 educational courses that provide product-neutral information and guidance for improving energy efficiency within an organization. Merck will first use Energy University as an internal training tool for its Global Energy Network for Improvement in Usage and Supply (GENIUS) teams, with the goal of educating employees to make smarter choices in energy efficiency. The online courses can help Merck’s 70,000 employees realize more than 30 percent energy savings within their building, facility or private residence.
The Energy University program will also provide employees with the opportunity to become certified as a Professional Energy Manager (PEM), an industry recognized certification provided by the Institute of Energy Professionals.
Within the Energy University learning platform, Schneider Electric has created four distinct development paths for Merck with different courses for specific groups of employees:
- Basic Training is a baseline path for GENIUS Team Leaders to first identify opportunities for energy efficiency;
- Advanced Training provides an expanded understanding of energy management and energy system and equipment principles for GENIUS Team Leaders, facility managers, engineering managers and site utility operations and maintenance personnel;
- Site Energy Team Member Training is an introductory course designed for Site Energy Team Members and any other employees interested in learning more about energy efficiency standards;
- “Treasure Hunt” Participant Training offers basic fundamentals to help employees find energy efficiency opportunities, measure waste and calculate savings during the three-day, cross-functional team event, which has been conducted at ten facilities worldwide and enabled Merck to identify more than $27 million in savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 88,000 metric tons.
These customized development paths enable GENIUS Team Leaders to develop and implement energy efficiency strategies that will reduce usage and emissions in their buildings or facilities. Each site will be represented by an Energy Champion, who is responsible for leading a cross-functional team in finding and implementing energy efficiency improvements.
“The best resource for reducing an organization’s energy usage and costs is its employees,” said David Reed, Energy Services Director, Buildings Business, Schneider Electric. “Our Energy University program provides the necessary tools to support companies from every industry in their efforts to effectively grow employees’ sustainability knowledge and skills. This will not only benefit the environment, but an organization’s bottom line as well.”
Launched in 2009, Energy University is providing energy efficiency education courses free-of-charge to more than 400,000 professionals in 180 countries and 13 languages. Energy University is available on-demand atwww.MyEnergyUniversity.com. For more information about Schneider Electric or its integrated solutions, visit the Schneider Electric website at www.schneider-electric.com