A guest of the EEC at this year’s National Energy Efficiency Conference, Dr Jessica Granderson directs the Building Technology and Urban Systems Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and is one of the world’s foremost experts on building efficiency and energy management. In this episode, Luke and Jessica explore the ins and outs of smart buildings, discussing how software can be used as an overlay to traditional building technology; how governments can advance policies...

Of the many positives to come from this year's National Energy Efficiency Conference, one of the biggest was the opportunity to bring Jan Rosenow to Australia for the first time. In the world of energy efficiency, Dr Rosenow needs little introduction. With his day job leading European Programs at the Regulatory Assistance Project, Jan also serves on the Executive Committee of the International Energy Agency’s demand-side management program, and sits on the board of the European Council for...

Last month's National Efficiency Schemes Summit was the first of its kind: a national event bringing together participants in all Australia's state efficiency schemes – a remarkable fact by Energy Savings Industry Association President Rod Woolley. That industry and government, NGOs and consumer groups from right around Australia had never gathered in one room before before to discuss the schemes was, as Luke says, “kind of bananas.” So with the stage lights still warm, we sat down with...

Earlier this month, some of Australia’s biggest companies released a statement to say that even our heaviest industries can transition their supply chains to net zero emissions, and they’re prepared to put the work in. It won’t be easy, and the pathway is narrow. But thanks to the work of the Australian Industry Energy Transition Initiative, it’s possible. In Episode 86 of First Fuel, EEC CEO Luke Menzel is joined by Orica’s Head of Sustainability Troy Powell and Industry Lead at...

Along with ambitious commitments to renewable energy, the Albanese Government has set its sights on decarbonisation and energy efficiency, putting the nation's energy policy wonks to work over the summer. In Episode 85 of First Fuel, EEC CEO Luke Menzel and EEC Acting Head of Policy Alex St John (a man who in his own words, “skews wonk”) discuss the “Summer of Submissions”. Luke and Alex unpack the EEC's thoughts on the proposed ⁠National Energy Performance Strategy⁠, as well as...

If they don’t already have one, developing a net zero plan is high on the priority list for all Australian businesses. But as most now know, the real job isn’t developing a plan, but putting that plan to work. In Episode 84 of First Fuel, EEC CEO Luke Menzel is joined by Kate Levick, co-head of the UK Transition Planning Taskforce Secretariat. The Transition Plan Taskforce was formed when, in a speech at Glasgow’s COP26, Britain’s then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced that...

Episode 83: Heavy industry, lighter loads: competitiveness through efficiency panel from 2022 Energy Efficiency Summit This week’s episode of First Fuel is a recording of our panel titled ‘Heavy industry, lighter loads: competitiveness through efficiency’ from the 2022 National Energy Efficiency Summit. In this panel, speakers Holly Taylor (Chair), Head of Projects, Energy Efficiency Council was joined by Jon Jutsen, CEO, RACE for 2030; Sharon Champness, Manager HR Safety and Environment,...

This week’s episode of First Fuel is a recording of our panel titled ‘Batteries of the nation: zero emissions commercial buildings’ from the 2022 National Energy Efficiency Summit. In this panel, Francesca Muskovic, National Policy Director of Property Council of Australia, was joined by: Davina Rooney, CEO, Green Building Council of Australia; Carlos Flores, Director, NABERs; and David Palin, Sustainability Manager, Mirvac. This expert panel considers what has been achieved on energy...

This week’s episode of First Fuel is a recording of our panel titled ‘Efficient, Electric and affordable: Creating better homes,’ from the 2022 National Energy Efficiency Summit. In this panel, Program Director of Climate and Energy at ACOSS, Kellie Caught, was joined by: Vanessa Davis, Researcher, Tagentyere Council; Margot Delafoulhouze, Systems Lead - Cities, Climateworks Centre; and Ben Milsom, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Plenti. In a wide-ranging session, this expert panel...

This episode of First Fuel is a recording of the Leaders Panel at the 2022 National Energy Efficiency Summit. Delivered in person from Sydney, and streamed to  a national online audience, the Summit brought together government, global experts, prominent consumer advocates and our largest industry associations for a unique, economy-wide discussion on the role of energy efficiency in this moment and beyond.  In this panel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel was joined by: Edwina...

Recorded in front of an intimate live audience in Melbourne on the eve of the 2022 Energy Efficiency Summit, episode 79 features Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel in conversation with California Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister. This was Commissioner McAllister’s first visit to Australia in five years, and this fascinating and wide-ranging discussion range from what compelled Ronald Reagan to make energy efficiency central to California’s policy in the 1970s, through to why “the...

In Episode 78 of First Fuel we bring you a panel discussion from the launch of the Energy Efficiency Council’s sector spotlight on energy management opportunities for Australian farms, released in partnership with the National Farmers Federation in late 2021. Luke Menzel, CEO of the EEC is joined by Ash Salardini, Chief Economist at NFF, Edwina Beveridge, Blantyre Farms; Dean Cayley, Cayley Farms; and Karin Stark, the founder of the National Renewables in Agriculture Conference. This...

In Episode 77 of First Fuel, EEC’s CEO Luke Menzel is joined by the Secretary General of the European Heat Pump Association, Thomas Nowak. Even prior to the war in Ukraine, Europe was already warming up to heat pumps, but the need to get away from Russian gas has supercharged that effort. Today, the European Commission has a plan to double the rate of heat pump deployment, with Germany announcing a ‘heat pump offensive’, to take the annual install rate to half a million per year. As another...

In Episode 76 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined by New Zealand’s Minister of Energy and Resources, Dr Megan Woods. Luke and Minister Woods discuss New Zealand’s legislated climate targets, New Zealand’s proud history of action on energy efficiency, and two of the nation's flagship energy efficiency programs, the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry Fund (GIDI) and the Warmer Kiwi Homes program. Mentioned in this episode: Aotearoa New...

In Episode 75 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined by Professor Nick Eyre, Director at Oxford University's Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS). Luke and Nick discuss the impact of the European gas crisis on UK energy consumers and what can be done about it. They also dig into the UK Government’s Heat and Buildings Strategy, and Nick’s recent paper – co-authored with Jan Rosenow of RAP – Reinventing energy efficiency for net zero. This...

In Episode 74 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined by Brian Motherway, Head of Energy Efficiency at International Energy Agency. Recorded on 4 July 2022 at the International Energy Agency headquarters in Paris, Luke and Brian take stock of the current state of energy efficiency efforts around the globe. They consider the impact of the current global energy crisis, unpack the outcomes IEA’s 2022 Energy Efficiency Conference, and look at emerging trends in...

In Episode 73 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is again joined by Francesca Muskovic, Director – National Policy at the Property Council of Australia, and Carlos Flores, Director of the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS). In this, the second part of a bumper double episode of First Fuel, Luke, Frankie, and Carlos go deep on electrification of buildings, which emerged as a major theme of their recent delegation to Germany. They discuss the...

In Episode 72 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined by two guests: Francesca Muskovic, Director – National Policy at the Property Council of Australia, and Carlos Flores, Director of the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS). This episode was recorded at the conclusion of a week long delegation to Germany on energy efficiency in buildings. Luke, Frankie, and Carlos discuss Germany’s granular climate targets, the role of the KfW Bank in...

In Episode 71 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined by Dr Nicholas Matten, Managing Director of EEC industry Member Stiebel Eltron. During this episode – recorded at the Stiebel Eltron Energy Campus in Holzminden, Germany – Luke and Nicholas discuss the history of Germany’s heat pump market, the drivers for increasing heat pump demand, and what government and industry will need to do to unlock the full potential of electrification in Germany and around the...

In Episode 70 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined by two guests, EEC Head of Projects Holly Taylor and Program Director of the Net Zero Initiative at Monash University, Scott Ferraro. In this episode, Luke, Holly and Scott discuss the launch of the EEC Professional Certifications Framework. They look back on the EEC’s engagement with training and certification over the last decade, the motivation for establishing the Framework, and how the EEC is partnering...

In Episode 69 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined live and in person at the National Energy Efficiency Conference 2022 by Adrian Joyce, Director of Renovate Europe. Luke and Adrian unpack the goals, approach and achievements of Renovate Europe, a political communications campaign focused on raising the profile of building upgrades in the broader energy transition. Mentioned in this episode: Renovate Europe RePowerEU (European Commission) Key...

In Episode 68 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined live at the National Energy Efficiency Conference 2022 with two guests: Francesca Muskovic, National Policy Manager for Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs at the Property Council of Australia, and Tennant Reed, Head of Climate, Energy and Environment Policy at Australian Industry Group. Luke, Frankie and Tennant chat about – what else – the results of the 2022 Federal election. Mentioned in this...

In Episode 67 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined Lynne Gallagher, CEO of Energy Consumers Australia (ECA). Luke and Lynne discuss the importance of centring consumer perspectives in the energy transition, how supporting consumers behind the meter can have big benefits on the supply side, and why ECA has stopped talking about DER. Mentioned in this episode: Death to DER? Why we need to change the language we use for the energy transition Key topics: -...

In Episode 66 of First Fuel, Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel is joined by Sagarika Subramanian, Senior Research Analyst for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) to discuss the 2022 International Energy Efficiency Scorecard. Luke and Sagarika discuss the countries that topped this year’s rankings and what set them apart, Australia’s performance across buildings, industry and transport, and what the scorecard tells us about the untapped opportunity for energy...