With the current state of the economy, small businesses are feeling the pinch more than ever. Energy efficiency is an important part of keeping operating costs down. With fuel prices skyrocketing, it’s never been more crucial.
There are a number of ways to make your business more energy efficient. These might include simple changes like turning off lights when you’re not using them to more substantial investments like solar panels. Whatever you decide to do, becoming more energy efficient will help your bottom line and for some businesses that could mean the difference between success and failure.
Becoming energy efficient
It’s likely you are already employing many of these measures already, so think of this as a checklist in case there is something you have missed.
- Use energy efficient lights. LEDs use far less electricity than traditional light bulbs and can last for many years. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use 75% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer.
- Regularly maintain and upgrade equipment to more efficient models. Although there may be an initial cost implication in buying new more efficient equipment, the money saved in rising energy costs over time may well make such a decision worth it.
- Consider renewable energy solutions such as solar panels.
- Tap in to any government incentives which you might be able to use to offset costs for energy efficient equipment and measures.
- Improve the insulation and use draught excluders where possible and install double or triple glazed windows. Again government incentives may exist to help with costs.
- Turn off electrical equipment when it is not in use. This would likely rely in your staff buying in to your energy efficiency measures and for this you’d need a policy and training.
Why be energy efficient?
The obvious answer to this question is the money it could save you over time. Particularly as the cost of fuel is set to increase significantly in the near future.
Energy efficient businesses use less energy to produce the same product or service as their less efficient counterparts and this means increased profits. But that’s not the only reason.
Reducing your energy consumption helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution that can damage our climate. Taking these steps now can help ensure a bright future for both your business and our planet.
You could use your energy efficient policy to promote your business as environmentally aware. This may just give you a new angle to help your business stand out and get the edge on your competition.
Train your staff
No matter which measures you decide on to make your business more energy efficient, if your staff aren’t engaged they won’t work. Simple things like turning off lights and using less heat can make a big difference, but only if everyone buys in to the policy.
Staff training will help to ensure that everyone is aware of how they can save energy and what they can do to reduce the amount of energy they use.
You could consider involving staff in energy efficiency projects. This could involve asking staff to help with audits or surveys, or even working on projects together to come up with energy saving ideas and implement measures.
Training sessions and workshops would give you an opportunity to elicit ideas from staff and get them involved in a more hands on way.
Finally you could provide training materials and information at meetings, on your website or intranet. This is a good way to ensure that staff are able to access the information at any time and from any location.
Make sure you have a plan in place for monitoring and evaluating your policy. This will help you identify any areas where further improvements can be made and ensure that your business is making the most efficient use of its resources.
And finally…
Improving your business’s energy efficiency will not only help to reduce your energy bills, but it will also help to reduce your carbon footprint. And with increasing pressure on businesses to operate in a more sustainable way, this is becoming increasingly important.
Bear in mind, energy efficiency measures often come with government incentives that can further lower the cost of implementing them. These incentive programs make it easier for small businesses to justify the upfront investment in energy efficiency measures and reap the long-term benefits.