(1888PressRelease)
June 27, 2008 - Buildings account for up to 40% of energy consumption in the European Community. It’s therefore no surprise that energy efficiency has become the buzzword for European governments and businesses and will continue to be so for the next ten years. To add to this, the cost of oil has hit a record high making it critical for your business to take a strategic approach to energy management and stop wasting thousands of pounds every year.
According to a TAC audit of 500 locations across the retail, commercial, manufacturing, education, health, financial, leisure and Government sectors, UK companies can easily make more than £7.5 million worth of savings every year. With an average saving of £15,500 per site, this is not to be taken lightly.
In January 2007 High Street chain Marks and Spencer announced “Plan A”, a £200m five-year plan to make the company carbon neutral. More than a year on and the retailer has made progress on 94 of its 100 goals outlined in the strategy. More than 60% of the company’s power now comes from combined heat and power, and 23% of its energy comes from renewable sources such as small-scale anaerobic digestion and wind power generation.
And it’s not just the private sector that’s being forced to take action. The University of Edinburgh has installed state-of-the-art combined heat and power (CHP) systems on three of its five campuses to slash its annual utilities bill. The University invested a total of £12m in this new technology; £5m of which was in grant support from the Community Energy Programme, and the remaining £7m from loans. Even with such a huge investment, massive savings of £500,000 on the University’s annual utilities bill means payback has been calculated at just seven years.
Not all energy campaigns need to be so elaborate or so costly. A wide range of low cost / no cost solutions offer significant quick-win savings on your energy bill. Examples include lighting which alone account for up to one third of your office’s electricity bill. Training and motivating your workforce to be more “energy aware” can also be highly beneficial, as a large London office can save as much as £100,000 on its annual electricity bill by simply encouraging its workforce to switch off their computers at night.
It’s clear that many businesses are wasting a significant amount of money on wasted energy. As fuel prices continue to reach record highs, failure to take a strategic approach to energy management becomes more costly. And it’s up to you to take action now. There’s no denying that failure to do so will continue to cost your business thousands of pounds a year.
Visit www.emtoday.com/efficiency08/info.shtml for the latest information about how to implement a successful efficient energy saving campaign in your business.
Energy Management Today
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