1.
Customer Success Story – Johnson Financial Group
When teams from two departments joined forces to tackle energy costs at Johnson Financial in 2009, it ignited
a companywide effort to become more environmentally responsible. It has grown exponentially ever since.
Getting to the core
Early in the life of the interdepartmental energy team, the key question – and worry – was: How do you
approach a large‐scale energy
efficiency solution?
The overarching goal of the team
was to lower energy expenditures
and Johnson Financial Group’s
impact on the environment. “The
decisions needed to make good
business sense and good
environmental sense. That’s just
as true today,” said Brent Hess,
Vice President & Corporate
Facilities Manager and member of
their energy team called The
Green Team. It quickly became
evident that engaging energy
experts could get the team to its
goals faster.
Johnson Financial Group’s Green Team
From left to right: Matt Isberner, Thomas Robbins, Alan Isberner, Jamie
Bull, Brent Hess, Jeff Byers, Dennis Collins, Steve Grinker, Matt Coss, Cindy
Villarreal, Luke Sarro. Not pictured: Danny Nickerson, Katie Larsen, Jake
Corsbie, Joyce Pavlina
With the help of their We Energies account manager, Joel Burow, the We Energies Education and Awareness
program, and Focus on Energy, the Green Team focused its efforts on the goal of lowering energy expenses.
The group worked together to formulate a systematic energy management plan.
The first step was to select an energy use baseline fiscal year and gather monthly energy use data for each
facility over the past three years. Next, the group divided the energy use data of each facility by its square
footage. The result was kWh/ft2
(electric), kBtu/ft2
(natural gas), Mlbs/ft2
(steam) and kBtu/ft2
(total) metrics
by facility, which were sorted from highest to lowest to identify the best opportunities. The group then used
the Commercial Energy Benchmarking tool featured in Energy Insights to compare its metrics with those of

2. similar facilities nationally. Finally, they benchmarked their headquarters using the EPA’s ENERGY STAR®
Portfolio Manager program to see how this facility rated in energy use among its peers from across the country
who also had participated. This approach outlined where energy was being used efficiently and where
improvements (by fuel type and facility) could be made.
Next, energy site assessments were performed through a coordinated team effort between Johnson Financial
Group, We Energies and Focus on Energy. The assessments examined all electric, natural gas and steam
equipment for its impact on energy use and provided equipment improvement recommendations, which were
reviewed and prioritized by the team. This information, which formed the basis of the energy management
plan, was compiled into a summary report that included annual estimated energy savings, implementation
budgets and timelines.
In addition to the annual estimated energy savings for equipment replacement, the report outlined cash
incentives available from Focus on Energy; Wisconsin’s statewide program for energy efficiency and renewable
energy, that helps Wisconsin residents and businesses manage energy costs, promote in‐state economic
development, protect our environment, and control the state’s growing demand for electricity and natural gas
by helping them implement cost‐effective energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
One of the opportunities the Green Team implemented saved 500,000 kilowatt‐hours of electricity and 17,000
therms of natural gas.
Innovative energy management controls were added at the corporate headquarters to increase user control
over the system, including scheduling occupied and unoccupied modes, reducing system run times, and
allowing for temperature set‐backs. Lighting was updated at numerous locations and personal environment
modules were installed in office cubicles to regulate task lighting, heating and cooling.
The savings, combined with cash incentives, allowed Johnson Financial Group to build an energy management
plan to further its energy conservation initiatives.
Since the inception of its Green Team, Johnson Financial Group has reduced energy use at their corporate
headquarters and other facilities every year. In fact, in fiscal year 2010, their actual energy spend finished the
year $250,000 under budget.
Following are some crucial steps for any energy team:
• Measure financial success as a result of the collective efficiency projects implemented throughout the
year.
• Compare energy use to previous and baseline fiscal years.
• Communicate success to executive team in a summary report.
• Recognize individuals publicly for their ideas.
• Take great pride as a team.

3. Empowered employees
“When people are empowered, like what they do and who they do it for, great things happen,” said Hess as a
testament to the changes that have spread throughout Johnson Financial since the inception of the Green
Team.
The simple act of reaching out to all employees for their ideas, analyzing them as an interdepartmental energy
team and circling back to the employee to let them know the findings, opened the door to many other positive
changes within Johnson Financial Group. It changed habits, fostered more collaboration, increased the
understanding between business lines and strengthened relationships among colleagues.
It also changed policy. Budgeting is done by region, and the staff balances its own spending, so all levels of the
facilities staff are now empowered to make decisions about further improvements themselves, with a basic
guideline of $500.
The year‐over‐year accomplishments of the Green Team have instilled pride in all employees and spilled over
into all areas of environmental stewardship. Johnson Financial Group now has employee‐driven solutions in
place for reducing resource use and decreasing waste, such as:
• Reducing business travel.
• Reducing employee transportation costs.
• Reducing paper and electronic storage use.
• Recycling paper.
Employee education about any viable environmentally responsible practice is encouraged and shared.
Thousands of hours are donated by Johnson Financial Group employees annually to Adopt a Highway, Adopt a
River Day and Habitat for Humanity.
A model for others to follow, Johnson Financial Group has been recognized nationwide in recent years:
• One of America’s greenest banks in 2010 by the American Society for Quality (ASQ).
• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation from the U.S. Green Building
Council at their Brookfield, Wis., location.
• One of the 100 Best Companies to Work For from Fortune magazine, three years running.
• Participant in the Metro Milwaukee Green Initiative.
Companies interested in beginning a journey toward managing energy costs with an energy team should
consider Hess’s advice. “While you likely are wearing many hats and don’t know where you could find the time
for such a large undertaking, if you utilize the free assistance available to you and approach it in small, simple
steps, you will be amazed with the results. We would not be where we are today without the help of We
Energies and Focus on Energy. Be open‐minded to change and to expert advice.”