Vivaki – Tracy Liu – 2010

Goals

Tracy Liu spent her summer at VivaKi, a division of Publicis Groupe — the world’s third largest communications group, world’s second largest media counsel and buying group, and global leader in digital and healthcare communications.

Solutions

An MBA student at the Graziadio School of Business, Pepperdine University, Liu identified and made the business case for several energy efficiency projects at one office location in New York City. The goal was not only to suggest project implementation at that location, but to create an energy efficiency standard for the Groupe going forward.

The projects identified included a comprehensive lighting retrofit project, PC and monitor power management, purchase of energy star equipment, and installation of cooler energy management systems. Liu also looked into additional rebate programs, identified opportunities for employee engagement and offered suggestions for overcoming organizational barriers to energy efficiency.

Potential Impact

Overall, the projects Liu identified could help VivaKi (Publicis Groupe) reduce annual energy costs by more than $132,000, cut approximately 793,000 kWh in annual energy use, and avoid 293 metric tons of CO2 emissions in that one location alone.