The US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Better Buildings, Better Plants Program (Better Plants) is a voluntary energy, waste, and water efficiency leadership initiative for U.S. manufacturers and water/wastewater entities. The program encourages organizations to commit to reducing the energy intensity of their US operations over a 10-year period, typically by 25%. Additionally, participants can commit to reducing their water or waste usage over the same 10year period with the Better Plants water

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... avings initiative. To read more about the lessons learned from the DOE Better Buildings Challenge Water Savings Pilot, please refer to Developing a Corporate Water Management Strategy for Manufacturers 1 on the Solutions Center website. Companies joining Better Plants are recognized by DOE for their leadership in implementing energy and water efficiency practices and for reducing their usage. Better Plants Partners are assigned to a Technical Account Manager, who can help them establish water intensity baselines, develop water management plans, and identify key resources and incentives from DOE, other federal agencies, states, utilities, and other organizations that can enable them to reach their goals. Better Plants Partners are expected to report their progress to DOE once per year. This involves establishing a baseline upon joining the program and then tracking their progress over time. Understanding Your Utility Bills: Water is intended to help companies meet the program's reporting requirements by helping them to learn about and analyze their water and sewer bills. Data collected from utility bills can be used with the DOE Energy Performance Indicator software tool to establish an energy baseline and track progress over time. This guidance document is applicable to companies participating at either the program or challenge level. Although this guide is intended primarily to assist companies participating in Better Plants, the methodologies and guidance within the document are applicable to any organization interested in understanding their water bills. For more information on the Better Plants program, please visit betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/better-plants For more information on the Better Plants Challenge program, please visit https://betterbuildingssolutioncenter.energy.gov/better-plants/better-plants-challenge 1 Rao, P., Developing a Corporate Water Management Strategy for Manufacturers