When it comes to the interrelated topics of climate change and the country’s energy resources, politics tend to generate the big headlines. However, innovation and corporate initiatives provide for countless untold positive news stories about energy optimization, improved bottom lines and other economic, social and environmental benefits. One rapidly emerging innovation, efficiency-as-a-service (and the financing solutions it provides) is driving a host of efficiency projects and new private sector investment.

Regardless of current administration policies on climate change, the Clean Power Plan and the Paris Agreement, U.S. companies small and large – and many with global footprints – are attuned to the value of energy innovation, responsive to a range of local and national regulatory requirements and concerned with the ramifications of climate change. If corporate America is going to truly fill the leadership void, energy efficiency planning and spending must be integrated and massively scaled. There are still too many companies implementing change on an ad hoc basis and they are likely to experience deleterious effects down the road.

A recent survey of business leaders on energy innovation and business resiliency, conducted by Siemens and the Harvard Business Review, reveals some of the angst being felt by executives. Many respondents say they are improving energy efficiency in facilities, but nearly 50% of companies acknowledge they pursue energy reductions on an ad hoc basis, and only 28% have resiliency plans in place.

Read more (Alliance to Save Energy)