Benefits: save energy | energy efficiency | help the environment | reduce risks | learn from others | demonstrate leadership

Organizations that join SSV benefit from the education and support provided by SSV and from collaboration with colleagues working towards a common goal.

• Education and Information Sharing: SSV hosts ongoing educational forums where participants share stories of success and lessons learned, and hear from resource organizations offering information on approaches to C02 reduction. Monthly SSV meetings enable organizations to voice their educational and support needs.
  
• Tools and Resources: SSV and corporate partner LifeScan, a Johnson & Johnson company, are sponsoring a working group for pledging organizations providing year-round training and mentoring in the implementation of US Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Enhanced Best Practices. LifeScan has ten years of experience saving energy and money, and reducing CO2 emissions.
  
• Progress Reporting: Annual reporting is made easy by SSV's tools and the experience of other participants, and reporting helps the pledging partners to monitor their progress. "What gets measured, gets managed. What gets managed, gets done."The annual reporting provides measurements of progress towards a members stated goals and becomes verifiable data that they can share publicly.
  
• Public Recognition: SSV includes all pledging partners on its website and in the annual report, nominates them for environmental awards as progress is made and seeks press coverage. Partners are also encouraged to present at forums and share best practices at meetings. SSV recognizes the efforts and achievements of individual partners and the members as a group as much as possible.

As reported in SSV's CO2 Report 2005, SSV partners are realizing significant bottom line savings:

• Electricity consumption takes a plunge at Cisco's headquarters: 49.5 million kWh/yr. conserved.
  This equals:
  - Savings of $4.5 million/yr. in operating costs
  - Powering 7,300 homes
  - Reduction of 23.3 million lbs. of CO2/yr
  - Removal of 2,300 cars from the road  
  
• City of San José reduced its energy bill by more than $13 million since 2001.
  
• Energy conservation projects yield $1.3 million of cost savings/yr for LifeScan's Milpitas and CaboRojo sites.   
  - $240 million is allocated to CO2 reduction projects
  -  CO2 emissions reduction target of 22.4% in 2005 (2001 baseline)
  
• Roche Palo Alto saved more than $2.5 million in energy costs between 2000-2004.
  The corporate-wide goal is to reduce energy use by 10% by 2009.   
  

• For 2000-2004, Agilent Technologies achieved a company-wide annual reduction in energy use of 5%.
  
• Lockheed Martin Systems purchased 1,200,000 kWh of renewable energy in 2004.
  
• Oracle's headquarters saved from 10-12% in energy use per year from 2001-2004 (2000 base year).
  
• Oracle's target is to reduce building energy use by 20% by 2015, based on 2003 levels.
  
• NASA Ames invested $4.5 million in energy efficient equipment and facility management control systems.
  
• NASA Ames adopted U.S.Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Silver ratings principles for guidance on new construction projects.
  

• Participation in Palo Alto Green program reduced Agilent Tecnologies' CO2 emissions by 222,180 lbs. in 2004.
  
• The Johnson & Johnson Company set a target of 7% absolute CO2 emissions reduction by 2010 (2001 base year).
  
• Calpine set GHG emissions reduction goal of 4% per MWh from 2003 to 2008.
  
• City of Palo Alto's goal is to “green” its electricity portfolio by 20% before 2015.
  
• HP Palo Alto's participation in the Palo Alto Green Program prevented 590,000 lbs. of CO2 emissions over the last year.
  
• NASA Ames Research Center set CO2 emissions reduction target of 30% below 1990 levels by 2010.
  
• The Santa Clara Valley Water District photovoltaic system eliminates more than 450,000 lbs. of CO2 emissions.
  

• Pledging partners of SSV learn proven strategies to conserve energy, save money, and document CO2 reductions. Learning from the experience of others helps SSV partners avoid the risk of making uninformed, high-cost low-return choices.
  
• Fossil fuels are an increasingly unreliable source of energy. SSV helps partners reduce energy consumption and convert to renewable energy, thereby reducing the risk of an unhealthy dependence on a single energy source.
  
• Fossil fuel costs are unstable and rising. SSV's support in energy conservation and conversion to renewable energy helps partners reduce the risk of rising energy costs.
  
• Many people expect that governmental regulation of CO2 emissions is inevitable. By participating in SSV's voluntary, innovative, and collaborative effort, SSV partners are setting the “rules of the game” for CO2 emissions reductions in California and the United States.
  

SSV serves as a clearinghouse to share best practices through its Educational Forums and meetings.

LifeScan, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, has made an unprecedented offer to share its ENERGY STAR Enhanced Best Practices. This is a step-by-step “how to” document. For example, Phase 1 for the first year covers Green Lights, a program to evaluate current lighting equipment and its energy demands. Specialized tools and calculators developed by Johnson & Johnson to project cost estimates and return on investment are included. These documents are password-protected. Interested SSV partners should contact the SSV staff for access information.
GUIDELINE FOR SUSTAINABLE DESIGN (requires member login and password)

Silicon Valley is regarded as a birthplace of innovation. This partnership and each SSV partner exemplify that innovation.

The results of each SSV partner's energy efficiency or other innovative program are combined with those of other partners for an even greater cumulative impact that demonstrates how Silicon Valley organizations are collaborating to lead the state and nation in reducing CO2 emissions.