Energy Magazine April 2017 | Page 12

PROFILE
the kitchen before ’. Despite the cultural differences , the lessons each organization took away from the experience were quite profound . That ’ s why we decided to make more episodes of SWAP , because it illustrates the ‘ a-ha !’ moment we want people to have when they think about energy efficiency . We want to show that other people have the same issues as you , and that you ’ re well-served to figure out how they overcame those issues . While it ’ s a serious issue and very much in the national interest , we ’ ve proved that it can still be enjoyable and engaging .”
Vargas and her team have reaped the rewards of the SWAP in the form of positive feedback and increased awareness of what she and her team

THE US NAVAL ACADEMY SWAP TEAM are doing . Thanks to an unforeseen degree of recognition – after all , a televised business swap is a highly unusual project for a governmental department to undertake – the first season achieved over 50 million media impressions and 300,000 YouTube views . Season two – a swap between the US Airforce Academy and the US Naval Academy – has over 1.5 million views .

The team has already wrapped on a third season – a city swap between Boston and Atlanta – which delves into a whole new set of trials . The diverse spectrum of sectors that the show has already put through the same challenge is what makes it so appealing for its audience , and it has enjoyed enough enthusiastic feedback to warrant at least two more series .
“ Lots of people have been covering it , which is a microcosm of what my challenge is for energy efficiency ,” says Vargas . “ All these partners are doing great things but if nobody knows about
12 April 2017