COMPANY DIRECTORS - who know that energy management excellence is reflected in their share price.  Studies such as those by Innovest  and Westpac's BT Financial leave no doubt about the correlation between how companies manage the energy use and the premium given by the stock market.  A correlation that should be fully leveraged.  Rising concerns about climate change and other damage from burning fossil fuels similarly place a firm's energy use under more intense scrutiny.  Energy consumption is also one critical factor that may be subjected to scrutiny by institutional investors and corporate social responsibility (CSR) analysts.

CEOs - and other senior management who need to know that, whether energy is a major or minor expense, it is being managed to the highest possible standards.  Micromanaging expenses that are well understood, while ignoring significant and persistent over-use of energy is not the stuff of well run companies.

CFOs - who want to be sure that energy costs have been optimised.  Energy costs are not 'overhead', 'fixed', or 'uncontrollable'.  They are an expense that directly contribute to meeting business objectives.  Introducing zero-based budgeting, accountability, and best-practice energy accounting, are proven success strategies.  The return on energy management initiative is typically between 25% and 200%.  With these rates, the right question is not "what will it cost", but "is there any limit to how much can we invest"?

Facilities Managers - who need to know the where, when, how, and why energy is used.  The daily objective is to eliminate complaints and avoid having to spend beyond the budget.  With tight resources it's tough to do all the maintenance and training that's needed.  Energy management (not "a project here, a project there") offers the means to deliver lower and lower costs, year after year.  But working out those savings requires a deep understanding of what makes up that total monthly consumption.