FAQ

Forum Overview

What are SED Forums?

Smart Energy Decisions Forums center around dedicated, pre-scheduled 1-to-1 meetings between pre-qualified energy buyers and solution providers. Unlike conferences, SED Forums combine organized business meetings with peer learning and informative presentations, enabling attendees to make meaningful progress toward their energy and sustainability goals.

What is a hosted buyer forum?

A “hosted buyer” forum is a type of business-to-business (B2B) event designed to connect qualified buyers with suppliers in a structured and efficient setting. Participants can expect:

Pre-Qualification of Energy Buyers: Buyers are vetted to ensure they have genuine purchasing needs, appropriate budgets, and decision-making authority or influence.
Pre-Qualification of Solution Providers: Solution providers in attendance are approved by the Smart Energy Decisions team, to ensure they offer the appropriate products and services for energy buyers in attendance.
Pre-Scheduled Meetings: 1-to-1 meetings between energy buyers and solution providers are arranged in advance, ensuring that both parties are matched based on solution and potential business opportunity.
Cost Coverage for Qualified Energy Buyers: Smart Energy Decisions covers the cost for travel, hotel, and sometimes meals or entertainment for qualified energy buyers.
Efficient Networking: This unique format maximizes ROI for sponsors by ensuring access to high-quality leads and reducing random foot traffic typically seen in traditional trade shows and conferences.

How are funds allocated to hosted buyers?

The following information is provided for compliance departments who need details on how the program works:

Smart Energy Decisions (SED) hosts Qualified Buyers via a blind pool that is funded by a portion of sponsorship fees collected from all event sponsors. These funds are used directly to pay for the airfare, hotel rooms, and food costs related to the event for qualified buyer executives.

The blind pool ensures that no single sponsor is funding the presence of any individual buyer executive. Further, as Smart Energy Decisions will not bid as a energy solutions provider on any buyer executive projects, SED does not have a energy solution provider relationship with attending buyer executives.

The use of a blind pool of funds and the fact that SED is not soliciting business from buyer executives, combine to provide a Qualified Buyer program that meets with the approval of most compliance departments.

Who attends?

Energy buyers, and other professionals tasked with implementing energy and sustainability solutions, represent a variety of industries including commercial, industrial/manufacturing, institutional and government sectors. Energy buyers attend to source active projects and all play a role in decision-making.

Solution providers in attendance provide a range of products and services to accelerate the adoption of clean energy and energy efficiency. Available solutions may vary based on the forum and have included advisory and consulting services, building management systems, data software, renewable energy, alternative fuel sources, and more.

Energy Buyers

Can I bring members of my team?

Yes! We highly encourage energy buyers to invite their peers to attend. If you invite a colleague that works closely with you on an upcoming project, you may take meetings together. In some cases, your colleague may have different projects or priorities, in which case you may take meetings separately.

How many meetings can I take?

We ask participating energy buyers to take up to 10 meetings with solution providers during the allocated meeting times. You will receive an exclusive Solution Provider Profile detailing all attending providers, and access to the 1-to-1 Meeting Scheduling platform in advance, so you are only meeting with those companies who have solutions to meet your needs.