GANE3: Global Action Network for Energy Efficiency Education

The Need

Energy use is hard to see and understand.  How are we to change our energy consumption behavior unless we fully comprehend what it means to be energy-efficient, and whether our efforts to be efficient are paying off?  The classroom is an important place to start.  Education on energy efficiency can tie into many academic subjects.   Students are a captive audience in a formative stage of their lives to develop lifelong energy saving habits.  Outside of the classroom, their knowledge and advocacy can influence their families, markets and even decision makers. 

Most international environmental education programs do not include a specific energy focus, making energy efficiency less likely to be included.  Energy efficiency is the cornerstone of a low carbon future, but it is not always included in climate change conversations.

“Green Jobs” is a popular term, but what does that mean?    In order to prepare the next generation of workers for an energy-efficient future, we need to engage more young people in hands on and academic learning that will prepare them for the energy efficiency job market.  This also means familiarizing  teachers, administrators and curriculum developers with the range of careers in energy efficiency.   While different countries have their own standards of learning, much can be gained by sharing tools, resources and best practices.

Our Approach

GANE3 brings together educational institutions, governments, business leaders and international development organizations to collaborate on a process of increasing and improving energy efficiency education in environmental education.   GANE3’s objective is to develop and promote the use of tools for existing organizations and programs that will:

• Engage students in energy efficiency by developing “best practice” educational resources.
• Empower communities to make energy-efficient choices, starting with influencing students to apply energy efficiency practices on campus, at home, and in their neighborhood and community.
• Enable students to pursue careers in the clean energy workforce by orienting them toward future career paths in the energy efficiency sector.

Become Involved

GANE3  is strengthened by its network of advocates ,practitioners, and businesses working in environmental education and energy industry.  To be truly global in reach, we seek to partner with organizations around the world.  As affiliate members, these organizations help carry out our objective of making energy efficiency more prominent in energy education.  We invite you to join GANE3.

For more information on GANE3, contact Aaron Stainthorp at astainthorp@ase.org.