How Can Your Business Save Energy?

Saving energy within business is not only important in terms of the environment, but can also save companies considerable sums of money. A 20% cut in energy expenditure can be as beneficial as a 5% increase in sales for many companies. But where should a business start when looking to save energy?

To begin with it is often a good idea to work out where energy is being used, and a fairly easy way to establish this is to have a series of walk-arounds at different times of day. In the first instance look at whether there are any good housekeeping measures which can be undertaken such as excluding draughts and cleaning windows and lights regularly. In addition, installing energy saving light bulbs will instantly lower your power usage regardless of how large your premises are.

For greater levels of energy saving it may be necessary to draw up an action plan and to involve everyone within the company. Everyone should be made aware of energy efficiency measures to be considered, perhaps with employees from each section of the building responsible, for example, for ensuring that all computer equipment is powered down at the end of the day.

It is also important to look at the wider picture in terms of saving energy. Could you switch to an energy tariff which uses renewable energy, or invest in some form of renewable energy technology on site? As much waste as possible should be recycled and products made from recycled materials (such as stationery) bought where possible. It might also be feasible to set up a car sharing scheme within your company, for example.

It is possible to employ environmental consultants to undertake an assessment of where energy savings can be made within a company, and they also offer other related advice, for example regarding environmental legislation. Depending on the size and energy usage of your company this may be worth considering, but this doesn't stop you starting saving energy today in some of the ways mentioned above.

Hayley Jones is the Web Marketing Director for http://www.uk-energy-saving.com which includes information on energy saving for businesses - http://www.uk-energy-saving.com/energy_saving_business.html