Managing and reducing your organisation’s energy consumption can lead to improved resource efficiency and reduced costs. It also builds agility and resilience in mitigating climate change and enhances your corporate reputation.
The implementation of changes in any organisation comes with pitfalls and setbacks – that is to be expected. And that is especially true when those changes relate to heavily ingrained areas such as process, structure, or culture. That is why it is important not to get disheartened, and to remain focussed on the reasons for implementing the changes in the first place. Learn from the failures and adapt the project to get the desired results.
Energy Management is no different. However, there are some steps you can take to make sure you are putting your best foot forward.
Step 1: Create an Energy Policy
The Energy Policy is going to guide your organisation on your Energy Management journey. It should be communicated to all staff and available on your company website to show the wider public that you are aware of your energy usage and that you are taking steps to reduce it. It should set out your commitment to monitor & manage your energy consumption to comply with current and future government regulations at a minimum. Senior management should sign the Energy Policy to highlight its importance to your organisation.
Step 2: Set up an Energy Team
Once you have an Energy Policy Statement the next step would be to set up an Energy Team or appoint an Energy Champion among your staff. Ideally the team would be made up of people from several departments, each bringing their own view on how to save energy. A diverse Energy Team also ensures that any projects or initiatives that are brought in are done so with the knowledge of how they would directly affect each department.
Step 3: Identify your Significant Energy Users
Once you have an Energy Team or Energy Champion you should conduct a review of how your site uses its energy. The Energy Team should collectively work through the site and pick out where the energy is being used and how it is getting to that end user. The energy use can be either directly related to the production process (e.g. compressed air) or indirectly related (e.g. lighting). Identifying the Significant Energy Users is a key step to managing your energy as they tend to represent the biggest bang for your buck in terms of energy efficiency measures.
Step 4: Setting Goals & Objectives
Setting clear goals will help you remain on target to reducing your energy use as a company and stay true to your Energy Policy. There are two types of goals to set when starting on your energy management journey – your Ideal Goals, and Your Future Goals. Your Ideal Goals are where your company wants to be (carbon neutral, zero waste, etc) and your Future Goals will set out the interim steps towards your Ideal Goals (10% reduction in electricity by Q2 2021). Your goals should be achievable and realistic for where you are on your Energy Management journey, and they should evolve with you throughout the journey.
At LBS Partners we will work with you to achieve each of the above steps, ensuring that they are suitable for you and your business. Energy management is very much a journey; everyone starts somewhere and there are no shortcuts. By allowing us to help you take these first steps you can be sure you are beginning your journey the right way. Get in touch today to see how we can help.
LBSPartners are an approved green service provider by Enterprise Ireland & IDA Ireland
This post was written by Ronan Moriarty, Energy Management Consultant, LBSPartners.