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Bdaily talks to an energy saving expert

Energy saving is a theme that has consistently appeared on Bdaily, and in conversations throughout the business community for some time. But, is energy saving really that high on the agenda for businesses?

According to the Carbon Trust, a 20% cut in energy costs represents the same bottom line benefit as a 5% increase in sales in many businesses.

Malcolm Potter is a project manager at sustainable energy advisory company Tadea and he suggests that simple energy saving is definitely not the norm amongst businesses.

Malcolm works specifically in display energy certificates: the certification that public buildings need to have to display their energy consumption; to raise their awareness and the awareness of the public.

Public buildings are compelled by law to have such certification, but private and commercial property do not.

New buildings and renovated buildings are required to display Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which rates the potential performance of the building.

On choosing to undergo certification, Malcolm says: “Most don’t. But, those that do will do it for a variety of reasons that might include high consumption properties with high energy cost, and therefore it makes business sense to reduce those costs; those that believe they’ve got a moral obligation to reduce the use of carbon, and to provide a better working environment for their employees and people in the business operation area.

“More and more so, energy is getting expensive and we’ve just seen some big hikes in energy prices - 10% increase in electricity costs for example - and they all follow suit.

“Energy is not going to get any cheaper. When you’re using heat to provide a working climate in a building, electricity to light the place and power machinery, it continues to get more expensive, and therefore it makes sense to look at how you can mitigate that or alleviate it.”

Malcolm continues: “This idea of energy consumption and saving on energy costs is still remarkably low on many individuals’ and many businesses’ awareness rating.”

Some businesses will prefer to focus on adapting to the most efficient materials and look at lean manufacturing processes for instance, and while it is quite right to do that, there are ways of relatively easily reducing straight energy costs.“

As the PR and marketing teams are keen to show the media, there are a number of big name businesses who have acted on the energy saving agenda, and reaped the rewards.

Malcolm points to Marks and Spencers as a good example of such an organisation. The retailer’s “Plan A” facilitated energy efficiency savings of £13.5m last year, using measures such as the recycling of coat hangers through to improving fuel efficiency.

“It’s just as if you were at home really, you look around and think what is costing you the most. As a business: you can get in a consultant to look at the situation and provide you with a report with suitable recommendations; set up your own “green teams” who are often people within the business who can look at their own areas of working and provide suggestions; and for the most part people will take a simplistic view and think about turning lights and equipment off,” Malcolm adds.

“You can make sure doors are closed; the place is insulated; the air-conditioning isn’t blasting unnecessarily; you have double glazing; and you have energy efficient lighting, for example.”

Talking to Malcolm, it’s clear that any desire to energy save stems from two components: the need to cut costs, and the wider global picture of diminishing fossil fuels and environmental impact.

He says that while many businesses are doing great work, it is just the “beginning of a tide of awareness that is slowly seeping across industry.”

Of course policy will be instrumental in leading change, and on the current direction from Whitehall, Malcolm says the supposed greenest government ever, “haven’t really got beyond a pale green yet.”

While he recognises there are lots of measures in place, Malcolm’s feeling is that policy must provide clarity beyond supplying current lobbying positions and satisfying short term demands.

For businesses their bottom line is the most important factor and whether there is coherence, or lack of, in the Government’s direction, Malcolm says businesses must continue to alleviate energy costs.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .