The Business Value of Enterprise Energy Management at DFW Airport

Abstract

The Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport has a long track record of success in conventional energy management. For 20 years, this technically oriented program existed principally as an initiative of the airport's maintenance department, and flourished in a stable environment characterized by plentiful resources and little competitive pressure. Although successful in producing technical accomplishments and cost reductions, the program never achieved broad corporate impact. In the mid-1990s, under the leadership of a new CEO, DFW adopted a business-oriented posture focusing on service quality and competitiveness. Although slow to adapt to the changing internal and external environments, by 1999 the maintenance department succeeded in reinventing itself by radically changing its business model and adapting its structure and processes to the new competitive landscape. New department leadership leveraged existing core competencies to recreate the energy management program with an enterprise orientation. They were subsequently able to demonstrate to executive management how the new model supported strategic business objectives and directly contributed to DFW's competitive advantage. Enterprise energy management was represented as a core business function that supported internal objectives (business growth, customer satisfaction, asset renewal) and addressed external factors (electric industry deregulation, environmental issues) by virtue of its positive impact on cost effectiveness, asset productivity and performance, resource utilization, and regional public policy. Having established credibility and demonstrated the business value of enterprise energy management, the department received unparalleled support from the DFW executive team and board of directors. Corporate policies were enacted to mandate energy efficiency, commissioning, clean fuel vehicles, and energy efficient building codes. New business strategies were developed, including energy master planning, evaluation of large-scale onsite power generation, and adoption of sustainable practices in investment evaluation, design, construction, operation, and procurement. Substantial financial and human resources were committed to support program objectives, and the maintenance department was renamed energy and asset management to signal its new stature and enterprise orientation. These outcomes reflected DFW's renewed, top-down commitment to enterprise energy management as a source of competitive advantage, and its persistence over time has confirmed the validity of the basic value proposition.