Business Energy Efficiency: 4 Considerations

In this article we outline the 4 key things to consider when it comes to achieving optimal business energy efficiency.

When striving for business energy efficiency – whether due to receiving high bills / peak demand charges from your energy provider or simply to lessen your organisation’s impact on the environment – there are a few key considerations to keep in mind.

1) What are you trying to achieve and why?

Understanding what you want to achieve and the underlying reason is a critical first step. Like any project within an organisation a defined goal helps us chart a course, connect stakeholders with the bigger picture, track our progress and keep us accountable.

For instance, if you were looking to be the most energy efficient manufacturer in Brisbane, you would need a clear action plan. Not only for internal use but also to keep your target audience aware of the steps you are taking towards your goals.

When it comes to business energy efficiency there are a couple common drivers we regularly come across. A desire to save on energy consumption, to save money, or both.

But we urge organisations to dive deeper into what they really want to achieve. The deeper you go, the more meaningful your goals become. The more likely you are to be able to move towards achieving them with full stakeholder buy-in – which is essential.

Always remember the fundamentals of SMART goals. A goal should be:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Actionable
• Realistic
• Timely

It’s one thing to say ‘I want to use less energy’, but a better defined goal would be ‘I want to achieve Net Zero within 24 Months’. For this you might night some external help from an energy efficiency engineer.

Making goals SMART, clearly communicating your mission to everyone involved, and keeping this top of mind will help in many ways.

It supports accurate budgeting of project costs, helps to gain stakeholder buy-in, ensures our actions align to the core organisation values, and helps source the right partners.

2. How Does Your Business Energy Efficiency Compare?

Putting context around your energy consumption is useful for setting expectations. No doubt many Queensland SMEs feel they can do more. However, not knowing how much more is realistically achievable can set us up for failure (or at least a false feeling of failure).

It’s important to seek out benchmarks from your peers – either by asking them directly, searching online, speaking to an energy consultant, or attending business forums where this information may be disseminated. When you have benchmark to work from it becomes easier to determine required actions.

Remember – the further you are away from the benchmark the easier (and generally cheaper) it is to make gains. For instance, closing the doors when the air-conditioner is on in your premises is low-hanging fruit that can make great strides towards energy consumption goals. Whereas defining a set environmental temperature at which AC is to be switched on/off alongside a time-limit of use can help us achieve this low-percentage improvement.

It all comes down to where you aspire to be positioned. As mentioned above, when we have SMART goals in place and an understanding of why we want to achieve them, we set ourselves up for success. Do you simply want to save money? Do you want to be more energy efficient than your competitors to make claims in your marketing material?

These are all questions you should be asking of yourself and your business.

3) Can You Access Funding for Business Energy Efficiency?

There is an increasing focus on supporting businesses in their energy-saving endeavours at various levels of government. With this focus comes increased funding opportunities but these aren’t always easily accessible or widely known. There are often a few hoops to jump through, reports to be conducted, and terms to be agreed to.

A consultant like Energy Engineers can help you access funding if it is available for your sector. We’ll take care of determining eligibility, preparing the right reports and documentation, and implementing the solutions sought.

That doesn’t mean that funding is the only requirement for an energy consultant to support your projects. Whilst funding is certainly important (and helpful) there are many ways that improved business energy efficiency can be achieved economically. A good engineer will help you find the most economical product regardless of your funding. Plus, we’ll help you to create a robust business case in order to identify ROI and other economic matrices. This opens up traditional finance channels and provides clear, itemised priorities.

With a defined business case there is no need to waste money and/or wait for government funding to take action. The process to save energy and lower your energy bills can start immediately.

4. How Can You Evaluate Energy Experts?

Here’s a couple quick tips to consider when evaluating an energy expert to support your business’ energy efficiency projects.

Firstly, there is a professional certification for energy efficiency expertise. That’s right – qualified practitioners are Certified Energy Managers (CEM). So the first thing to do is to look for this accreditation from any consultant you are evaluating.

In Queensland a qualified engineer needs professional registration with BPEQ. Just like a doctor needs to register with an official regulatory body.

The global Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) has partnered with the EEC (Energy Efficiency Council) to provide the CEM here in Australia. This is to crackdown on the number of ‘cowboys’ in the industry providing sub-par advice or implementing solutions that don’t actually achieve the intended results. 

Energy efficiency projects require a significant amount of technical knowledge. Standardised certification ensures that any practitioner understands the practise of energy management to an acceptable standard.

Also, watch out for an energy expert that is pushing too hard on a particular service or product. The best energy experts will treat you like a partner rather than just a client. They will work with you to prioritise tasks (and equipment purchase) rather than what their company wants to sell you. Your energy consultant should help you build a strong business case for the improvements you need and ensure you understand every element.

A good energy partner will provide the advice you need whilst taking the time to understand your concerns, bandwidth, and capacity for change.

If you’re a QLD business looking for energy solutions – speak to the team at Energy Engineers today and put us to the test.