When it comes to sustainability, one of the things that your business could look at is how much energy are you spending on a daily basis. Saving energy or using more sustainable energy alternatives will not only help the environment but as well allow your company to save money.
How to Make Your Business More Energy Sustainable
There are various quick measures that your organisation can implement to make your business more energy sustainable. You should follow these steps:
Analyse your Electrical Bill
Firstly, you should understand your electrical bill and get a sense of your usual weekly energy consumption. Just then you would be able to know how can your business become more energy sustainable.
Keep track of your Energy Consumption
Ensure that you keep track of and monitor the consumption of electricity in your business. Perhaps, it could be a good idea to appoint an employee to supervise your organisation’s energy usage.
Establish an Energy Management Plan
Create an energy management plan and set energy efficiency targets for your business. As well, make sure to get your staff involved and make them aware of your energy savings goals.
Where Can Your Organisation Be Spending More Energy
When establishing an energy management plan, there are some key areas you should focus on. Some examples of those are:
Lighting
Lighting systems can be responsible for up to 40% of a building’s energy use. Evaluating your lighting energy use can help your organisation become more sustainable and save some money.
You may…
- Replace lights with energy-efficient alternatives such as LED bulbs, which use considerably less energy.
- Install occupancy sensors to make sure lights are not left on unnecessarily.
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
Did you know that by turning the heating up to 1°C, you increase your heating bill by approximately 8%? By turning down the temperature to only 1ºC you would already be saving money without really any discomfort.
You may…
- Insulate the building.
- Turn down the heat outside business hours and don’t waste heating on unoccupied areas.
- Coordinate your air conditioning and heating to avoid wasting energy.
Transport
Do you really need to have everyone at that meeting? Could it be an online call? Have you considered the possibility of remote working? You should make sure that your employees are only commuting if necessary. If so, when commuting is required, just paying attention to how we drive can make a difference. An aggressive driving style can lead to an increase in fuel consumption of 10-12% above average.
You may…
- Be aware of the way you drive by for example maintaining a steady speed and not over-revving the engine
- Consider switching to electric vehicles. An electric car is significantly more energy efficient than a Diesel one.
Office equipment
Simple day-to-day behaviours can make a considerable difference in your organisation’s energy sustainability. Just by ensuring that your employees are energy aware, you will quickly see a big impact on your business energy consumption.
You may…
- Switch on the eco option on all your devices. By doing this, for example, a photocopier can save up to 92% of its typical energy use.
- Ensure to check the energy efficiency rating label when acquiring new equipment. Devices rated A are the way to go!
For more information on Sustainability in the Workplace, click here.
