There’s a phrase I hear all the time in our industry: “The easy savings are gone.”
And to be fair… they kind of are.
Lighting has been upgraded. Rebates have been claimed. The “low-hanging fruit” has been picked, juiced, and probably turned into a case study by now. But here’s where I’ll gently push back, having spent the last 19 years in this space: Mature markets aren’t tapped out. They’ve just grown up a little.
What’s actually happened isn’t exhaustion—it’s evolution. The next wave of savings doesn’t live in single measures anymore. It lives inside systems, operations, and controls. It’s in the way buildings actually behave on a Tuesday afternoon in July when everything is running at once. That means we have to approach things differently. Less “swap this widget,” and more “How does everything work together—and how can it work better?”
Over the years, I’ve found the best place to start is still the simplest question: “What are your expected outcomes?” Because once you understand that, you can start pulling the right arrows from the quiver—program design, technology, trade engagement, analytics, operational improvements. And let’s be honest: if you’re relying on just one arrow at this stage of the market, you’re probably bringing a butter knife to a pretty sophisticated conversation.
Today’s biggest opportunities are showing up in places like:
In other words—the stuff that doesn’t always come with a neat, pre-packaged rebate form.
These are the opportunities that require a deeper understanding of how facilities operate day-to-day. They’re layered, interconnected, and sometimes a little messy. But here’s the upside: They deliver bigger, longer-lasting results. We regularly see customers uncover savings they didn’t even know were there—not because anything was “broken,” but because systems weren’t working together as efficiently as they could.
That’s the next chapter for mature portfolios.
We can talk about technology all day. (And trust me, we often do.) But participation? That still comes down to people.
Contractors. Facility managers. Distributors. Operators. Energy managers.These are the folks making decisions long before a project ever hits your program pipeline. Programs that sit on the sidelines of those relationships struggle, but the programs that integrate into them are the ones that scale.
Same goes for customers. Most aren’t waking up thinking, “How can I reduce my kWh today?” They’re thinking about:
If your program aligns with those priorities, participation stops feeling like a push and instead starts happening naturally.
The next phase isn’t about doing more of what worked before. It’s about adapting to how things actually operate today. That means:
The portfolios that thrive over the next decade will be the ones that evolve before participation plateaus become a problem.
After nearly two decades in this industry, one thing I can say with confidence: There is still plenty of opportunity left in mature markets. It just requires a different lens—and the willingness to use more of the arrows in the quiver. If you’re starting to feel like your program has hit a ceiling, it might not be the market; it might just be time for a new approach.
We’ve put together an executive insight brief that breaks down how leading programs are uncovering deeper savings, strengthening participation, and evolving their portfolios for long-term success.
Or, if you’d prefer a conversation instead of a PDF, let’s connect. We’re always happy to compare notes, share what we’re seeing in the field, and explore what might work for you.