The Grundfos-initiative Act NOW has become an independent, ‘non-profit’ organisation with 11 equal partners, who wishes to create awareness about energy-efficient solutions. Recently, Act NOW has united its forces with the European Commission in an environment offensive directed towards five European markets.
The idea is still the same but the precondition for running Act NOW has changed after the organisation has been established as a partnership and no longer as a direct part of Grundfos. Grundfos is now one of Act NOW’s partners on equal terms with 10 others, and they are going to run Act NOW as a ‘non-profit’ organisation, with an executive committee at the end of the table.
"It’s a great achievement that Act NOW’s mission has won such an interest with business companies, the political environment, NGOs and other organisations that it’s now ready to fly the nest. I’m proud that it is now an organisation, and I look forward to follow its work in the years to come", Henning Sandager, Group Senior Vice President at Grundfos states.
The daily work will first and foremost be supervised by Lisbet Bræmer-Jensen who has been given a leave of absence from Grundfos to become Managing Director of Act NOW. Her job is to organize a secretariat that must handle the daily operations in which the primary target is to carry on the work and establishing partnerships in a more international perspective.
"In my work with Act NOW I found out that it would be a clear advantage, if different participants were behind the project, instead of only Grundfos running the business", Lisbet Bræmer-Jensen explains, and adds that it is a strong, differentiated group of interests who is now behind Act NOW.
Spreading the good news
Act NOW originates from Meet The Energy Challenge – NOW which is Grundfos’ recommendation for how pumps can contribute in creating energy-efficient solutions.
"Meet The Energy Challenge – NOW will still be Grundfos’ spokes body for telling the world how our pumps and solutions can contribute to save energy and reduce CO2 emissions. Act NOW will be an important collaborator and voice", says Hanne Jørgensen, Marketing Project Manager in BD Marketing adding: "The potential is huge as you consider that pumps are responsible for 10 per cent of the world’s collected energy consumption and that savings of 4 per cent can be achieved immediately by implementation of energy-efficient pumps. If we combine this with solutions and ideas from others in the Act NOW-partnership, the potential will become even greater."
Lisbet Bræmer-Jensen explains that all partners in Act NOW are obligated to deliver cases in which they show how they work with environmentally correct solutions. These cases will serve as examples when NGOs are going to show different interests how great a potential for energy savings that exists. "Act NOW must, with actual examples, be able to show political decision-makers, institutions, companies and other stakeholders that solutions to the world’s environmental issues already exists. Expressed in popular terms, we have to be guides in a jungle of solutions", she says.
Collaboration with the European Commission
Recently, Act NOW has united its forces with The Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, in an environment offensive directed towards five European markets. Act NOW is being connected to ‘A World You Like’’, an initiative from the European Commission, that is spreading knowledge about green solutions in Europe. Specifically, Act NOW becomes part of a dedicated environment offensive on five European markets. It involves Italy, Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria and Lithuania. Act Now is going to support the EU-strategy by delivering specific examples of energy-efficient technology ready to be implemented. It is both a matter of showing customers in the five countries that the technology is available, and of documenting how good a deal the products have been for the institutions that have invested in them.
Facts about Act NOW
Behind Act NOW stands Grundfos Holding A/S, Scanenergi A/S, Concito, KAB a.m.b.a., Nobel Sustainability Trust, Crowne Plaza Copenhagen Towers A/S, Helsingør Kommune/Vækst og Viden Helsingør A/S, Strategic Innovation AB, Green House Solution/Bright Green Testisland – Bornholm og Københavns Kommune.
In common, they wish to hurry up the distribution of products with low energy consumption. The products exist today and can quickly and easily be installed – often as very simple plug-and-play solutions. This goes for many modern and energy-friendly instruments and equipment for buildings, production facilities and supply systems.
