The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 41: Feb/March 2019 | Page 27

HOW AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY DRIVE CAN INCREASE
BUSINESS PROFITABILITY
Energy is one of the most significant costs for a business and
reducing it can have a positive impact on an organisation’s profits.
For a company with a profit margin of 10%,
reducing energy costs by £10,000 per annum
is the equivalent of bringing in £100,000
worth of new business.
Companies are now readily accepting that
‘going green’ is a change that they’ll have to
make sooner or later, but historically, energy
efficiency drives within an organisation were
seen as non-essential to the survival of the
business.
Now, with rising energy costs and the
need to protect the environment – from
both legislative commitments and social
responsibility - it’s the offer of a financial
return with additional benefits which is
enabling businesses to easily integrate
energy efficiency projects into their business
process - and the term of ‘sustainable
energy management’ now makes for a
compelling business case.
Corsham-based SMARTech energy are
specialists in reducing energy use and CO²
emissions for businesses and organisations
and through specialist energy management
technologies and initiatives, they’ve helped
businesses to adapt and thrive in a changing
environment.
Launched in 2014, the company has made
strong progress towards helping customers
to achieve their carbon efficiency goals and
the tactic for 2019 will be to not only continue
to help customers fulfil compliance-based
commitments, but to drive energy efficiency
as a corporate benefit.
MD, Stuart Pearce says “All organisations
have the potential for energy efficiency
improvements and, while the installation
of new technology is a financial outlay, the
return on investment can be seen in areas
beyond energy efficiency”.
Stuart continues “A new LED lighting
installation is cheaper to maintain due
to less frequent replacement of parts
supply connections – reducing the number of
failures and business disruptions.
Furthermore, evaluating individual
initiatives such as the implementation of
LED lighting or new types of refrigeration
systems and understanding how these
technologies work in conjunction with each
other can also impact on the bottom line.
For example, changing the lighting in a shop
can affect how much heating or cooling is
required and therefore the amount of energy
required.
One of the major barriers to an
organisation reducing their energy
For a company with a profit margin of 10%, reducing energy costs
by £10,000 per annum is the equivalent of bringing in £100,000
worth of new business.
and improved lighting makes for a
more comfortable working or learning
environment: for staff or students within the
education sector for example”.
Additionally, reducing energy
consumption lowers exposure to a volatile
energy market and, to that end, the effects
of good power management are crucial for a
site operating near the physical limits of its
consumption is the lack of information or
know-how. Businesses across all sectors
are initially concerned about the anticipated
costs to implement energy saving initiatives,
but it is technologies such as the Eniscope
real time energy monitoring system which
tracks energy usage, that gives credible
information on energy wastage and
consumption - and it’s this data which helps
key decision makers to make change for
the long term and generate an immediate
financial return.
Ultimately, Stuart adds “Innovative energy
saving technologies which help to reduce
carbon emissions and cut costs are shown to
improve business profitability – and not only
on the bottom line, but also enabling new
business growth and productivity”.
www.SMARTech-energy.co.uk
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019
27