The new CHP Recycling Energy brand campaign incorporates the concept of Recycling Energy not only to define but also to demystify combined heat and power (CHP) - in essence taking the conversation out of the technical arena. Recycling Energy brings meaning to CHP and becomes the context within which CHP makes sense. By creating a market for Recycling Energy, we create new market opportunities for CHP.

Brand Campaign Roots

What began as a focused energy project in the Midwest and progressed to broader conversations in Washington, D.C., has given rise to the national CHP Recycling Energy brand. This involved bringing the CHP community together to identify the obstacles that exist to CHP deployment and then working to determine the role communications can play in eliminating these barriers.

"With support from the DOE's [Department of Energy] Midwest CHP Application Center and the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, we had more than a hundred conversations with public- and private-sector leaders. What became clear was that the CHP industry wasn't telling a consistent story. Executive-level decision-makers weren't familiar with CHP. And other target audiences weren't connecting the role of CHP in addressing today's pressing energy concerns. One way to address these issues was to develop a compelling and consistent message that would resonate in the marketplace," says John Kelly, executive director of the Distributed Energy Center at the Gas Technology Institute in Des Plaines, IL, and chairperson of the Recycling Energy Council. "Scheibel Halaska revealed the power of branding, the significance of developing messages that focus on critical energy issues, and the need to have a consistent story that every organization in the industry can get behind."

Positioning CHP for the Greatest Impact

"Our initial challenge was to position CHP in a way that would be immediately identifiable and that everyone in the energy industry would embrace. Recycling Energy [see note at end of article] became that conversation," says Mary Scheibel, principal, Scheibel Halaska. "Recycling works on numerous levels by cutting across multiple audiences with a message that people already understand and value. It is something people can get passionate about. And it is difficult to take a position against.

"It also highlights the uniqueness of CHP, a proven form of distributed generation that recovers, or recycles, the valuable waste heat produced in electricity generation for use in cooling, heating, and power," Scheibel continues.

The new CHP Recycling Energy tagline reflects the input from the CHP community, which culminated at the United States Combined Heat & Power Association's (USCHPA) 2003 Policy Day. 

Extending the New Brand to the Marketplace

In order to manage and build out the brand identity, the Recycling Energy Council (REC), a nonprofit organization, was formed. Founding sponsors of the council - including the Casten Family Foundation, Cinergy Solutions, the Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA), the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), the International District Energy Association (IDEA), and USCHPA - have each contributed financially to build the campaign. They also have donated their time to communicating this message because they believe it is a cause worth supporting.

According to Kelly, "The council leadership came together to develop a strategy that enables us to equip industry allies with a brand story and to raise funds to launch a focused but effective public relations campaign."

Obtaining Industry Support

Carrying that message to the market requires support from all members of the CHP community. The Brand Ambassador Program, sponsored by REC, provides the opportunity to do that. For a modest fee (which is discounted for members of EMA, IDEA, and USCHPA), Brand Ambassadors can participate in new ways that build CHP's visibility and strengthen their own efforts.

Brand Ambassadors support an aggressive public relations campaign, which opens opportunities to increase visibility and create a bigger market for CHP in the future. This ongoing, targeted, public relations effort begins to extend the brand deeper into the marketplace. Ambassadors also have access to brand-based marketing tools that complement their own sales and marketing efforts. These brand-based materials can be utilized to communicate the message through presentations, mailings, trade shows, and other promotional activities.

Critical to the success of the brand initiative is getting the CHP community to embrace it and persuading community members to become Brand Ambassadors - which ultimately benefits them, the CHP community, and the nation.

"Utilization of the national brand campaign is a critical step in increasing CHP deployment. It's time for the US to recognize the value of CHP/DG [combined heat and power/distributed generation] in creating a more intelligent energy future. As this initiative begins to catch on, we will see states implement Recycling Energy programs. We will see Recycling Energy included in key legislation. We will see Recycling Energy become an energy standard," says Kelly.

As a cohesive group, Brand Ambassadors can dramatically impact understanding and implementation of CHP Recycling Energy.

The CHP Recycling Energy Brand Ambassador Program will be featured in the next issue of DISTRIBUTED ENERGY. For additional information today, please contact John Kelly at 847/768-0665 or Mary Scheibel at 414/270-3513.

Note

Recycling Energy was coined by Tom Casten, cofounder and vice president of the Casten Family Foundation, founding chairman and chief executive officer of Primary Energy LLC, and a founding sponsor of the Recycling Energy Council, in his efforts to stimulate a new way of thinking about energy in the US.

JOHN KELLY is executive director of the Distributed EnergyResources Center at the Gas Technology Institute in Des Plaines, IL, and chairperson of the Recycling Energy Council.  MARY SCHEIBEL is a principal of Scheibel Halaska, the Milwaukee, WI–based marketing communications agency behind the new CHP Recycling Energy brand.

DE - May/June 2004