During the fall Chalmers introduces a new mission education where lean philosophy is applied within the energy area. The course called “Lean Energy” is addressed to companies and organizations in different industries and aims to reduce energy use and environmental impact.

The key principle of Lean is to avoid waste; the activities that add no value to the final product. Recently, companies and organizations also begun working to limit the various forms of waste that pollute the environment. Annette Winter at Chalmers Professional sees several explanations for the development .- It's about a greater social responsibility and a greater knowledge of environmental issues. In addition, there are strong economic incentives to review energy use.

During five two-day meetings, lectures with literature seminars will be interspersed with practical exercises. A number of relevant themes will be addressed, such as “Lean philosophy from an energy perspective” and “Application of systems thinking to understand the organization’s energy use”. The course provides knowledge and tools to implement energy analysis, but the participants are also working with a concrete plan for energy efficiency which is connected to their own activities.

The education is initiated and designed in collaboration with the Energy authority and a number of reference group companies. The first course begins October 26 2011 and another course is planned to begin during spring 2012.