How to Make Your Business More Energy Efficient

In recent years the focus has very much been on reducing energy at home and encouraging people to think green as they go about their daily business. However, it is all too easy to switch the energy awareness off and fall back in to bad habits the minute we get into work. With the average business consuming far more energy than the average household, it’s important that energy efficient thinking becomes just as much a part of our working lives too. Here are some easy ways to reduce consumption in the office too.

Invest in an Energy Management System

• Most of the bigger energy companies will offer an Energy Management System which is a combination of different services and products (like energy monitors) that will help your business get on the energy efficient track. One example is the Energy360 service offered by British Gas. These systems can help you reduce your operating costs by encouraging you to put simple energy savings measures into practice and identify where energy is being wasted.
  
  
• In addition to investing in an Energy Management system, if you run a fairly large business it might be helpful to appoint an Energy Monitor – someone who is responsible for ensuring the whole office is on board when it comes to reducing consumption. Set achievable targets and offer a bonus or reward that the whole office benefits from if they are met.

Switch off – turn down

When you run a busy office and the focus is on meeting deadlines and getting the job done, it’s all too easy to forget about little things like switching equipment off when you’re not using it. And when it comes to the heating and air conditioning, everyone assumes that someone else is taking care of it or monitoring its usage. This is a responsibility you might hand over to your Energy Monitor. Heating doesn’t need to be on in the board room if there are no meetings booked that day, and unless it’s a stiflingly hot day in the summer, sometimes it’s just as easy – and more pleasant – to open a few windows rather than have the air conditioning blasting. Make sure with both heating and air con that you have the temperatures set appropriately, and if there’s no need for them on any given day – turn them off.

The same goes for office equipment. Things like printers, photocopiers, lighting and PCs or Macs should all be turned off at night, not just left on standby. You’d be amazed how much money you could save over time by doing simple things like this. And if your server has been serving you for a number of years now, consider upgrading to a new one as most modern servers are fitted with energy saving applications.

Make use of any tax incentives

With the Government under pressure to meet global targets for energy efficiency, tax incentives have been introduced to help businesses reduce their usage. One example is the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme which allows you to claim 100% of first year capital allowances if you do go ahead and invest in new energy saving technology for your business. This means you can write off the full investment cost against your taxable profits for the period.

Remember, it’s the little things that add up to big savings. And you can’t do this alone, so it’s important to make sure that everyone in the office is working together to help reduce consumption and, in turn, the company’s energy bill!