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ISO50001 Consultants - Reducing your Energy Consumption

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What is ESOS? What’s it all about then?

Compliance Guidelines Regulations Concept

ESOS Why?

Energy Saving Opportunities Scheme, or ESOS, is the vehicle that the UK is using to comply with the European Union 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive, Article 8. It is designed to improve business profits, enhance competitiveness, whilst reducing impact on the Environment and Climate Change.

It is estimated that there are energy efficiency savings of around £2bn still to be made by UK business. Most organisations can save 20 to 25% through simple energy efficiency measures alone.

Does ESOS Apply to my Business?

If your business has a physical presence in the UK and that entity meets the ESOS criteria, you will have to take steps to account for your energy consumption and identify savings opportunities.

Does My Business Fit the ESOS Criteria?

Large businesses must make an ESOS return to the Environment Agency. Organisation’s are designated as ‘Large’ if they:

  • Employ more than 250 people

Or,

  • Have a turnover of in excess of 50 million Euro’s or a balance sheet of in excess of 43 million Euro’s.

Or,

  • Has a presence in the UK and the above tests apply.

 

Public Sector organisation’s will not normally be subject to ESOS. Although some Universities, if  they fit the criteria above and are not subject to the Public Sector Contract Regulations 2012, in England Scotland and Wales, or Public Sector Contract Regulations 2005 in Scotland.

Key ESOS Dates

 

  • 6 December 2011 – 5 December 2015: First compliance phase
  • 31 December 2014: Qualification date for first compliance phase
  • 5 December 2015: Last date to submit formal notification for first compliance phase through the online notification system

 

 The ESOS Criteria Applies To My Business, what should I do?

To comply with the regulations, a ‘Lead Energy Assessor’ will need to conduct an ESOS Assessment to:

  • Measure your total energy consumption for buildings, industrial processes and transport
  • Identify areas of significant energy consumption, accounting for at least 90% of your total energy consumption
  • Identify cost-effective energy efficiency recommendations for areas of significant energy consumption;
  • Report compliance to the Environment Agency by December 2015
  • ESOS Audits must be repeated out every 4 years

 

What does an ESOS Assessment Look Like?

The assessment period must include 31st December 2013 and end by December 2015. Energy Savings identified and managed continuously up to and including this period is acceptable, but the deadline is December 2015,

The ESOS Assessment has no prescribed format but the Lead Assessor must confirm that it meets all the parameters and reports in all data as required by ESOS.

At least one site visit is required to ensure assessments are not theoretical Organisation’s with a number of similar sites or assets can take a proportionate approach, applying recommendations from one audit across the wider portfolio. If all cost saving energy improvements have been made in smaller sites, using  the Assessment criteria from authorised agencies and no significant changes by way of output, refitting or upgrading have been made then New Assessments do not have to be made (although advice in this instance should be taken).

Exemptions from ESOS

Organisation’s which are fully covered by ISO50001 have an exemption from ESOS. In addition, businesses which have had Green Deal Assessments (GDA) or have Display Energy Certificates (DEC) in place may be excluded from this process. However GDA or DEC may not be sufficient so guidance should be sort from the Department of the Environment.

 

 

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Business Structure, carbon reduction, energy, Energy Audit, Energy Legislation, Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, ESOS, ESOS Lead Assessor, ISO50001, reduce consumption, Save Energy, UK Governement, what is ESOS?

Energy Management First Steps – Simple Energy Audit

Expertise

What to consider in a DIY Energy Audit

A simple and useful Energy Audit is a good start to bring together all factors to give you a clear picture of how you consume your energy within your organisation. It’s a bit like being a detective and will identify the Strengths Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to your organisational energy consumption. What you will need to ascertain is:

  • What Energy is being used at the site
  • Meter Readings
  • Site Plans/Building Layout
  • Location of Sub Meters, Plant Room
  • Who are the main consumers of Energy (if known)
  • A list of main plant and equipment, lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and age
  • What Control Systems are in place
  • What temperature are your thermostats set to?

Does Energy Consumption Match Day To Day Operations?

If your business is not currently recording and monitoring energy usage you may be able to obtain half-hourly consumption data from your energy supplier. This can show clearly how the energy is being used and from this you can define your optimum required consumption based on occupancy levels or operating shifts and minimise consumption spikes and sporadic uncontrolled energy usage. To maximise the integrity of the data and analysis you will need to know:

  • Half Hourly consumption data and sub- metering info (where applicable)
  • The staffing levels for the period, working hours or shift patterns
  • An understanding of the day to day operations
  • If available, historical weather conditions and bank-holiday/seasonal shut down dates.

Take a look at the Building

Understanding the building and the management of the in-situ environmental plant, is also crucial to a decent audit. What is the age of the building and is it maintained in good condition. Consider the condition and controls of the environmental plant. The older the systems and the built form for example, then the less energy efficient it will be. Or, if your building has ill- fitting doors or windows, damaged insulation on hot water carrying pipework, possibly single glazing, holes in the external walls and poor insulation then your energy costs will be higher.

Are the Environmental Plant and Controls in Good Condition?

This also applies with the environmental plant, if it isn’t serviced regularly and is as installed in the building on day 1 of operations then the amount of energy consumed, against the benefits to the occupants will be greatly reduced. Just ask yourself, just how many layers of paint are on those radiators and how may room thermostats are sitting next to the print-centre or over a heat source. A simple tip at the end of the day if anything is buzzing, hissing, bleeping, glowing or flashing it is often consuming unnecessary power.

What about Air-Flow?

Also think about air-flow, often we feel think we’re lethargic and tired due to being hot. Often we have seen that it is because air flow has been interrupted within the premises. Over the years, partitions for meeting rooms and offices may have been installed which has blocked the free flow of fresh air.

Speak To The People

Also speak with the employees often they know where energy can be saved because they work with it day to day. Their behaviours and housekeeping impact energy consumption massively, there is a train of thought that most buildings are energy efficient until you introduce people. The users also know that, really, the setting they may have on their workstation is always ‘in that position’ not because it is the most efficient setting but because ‘they can’t be bothered to adjust it’ or waste the time ‘turning it on or off’.

Simple Steps = Savings

If you start your energy auditing journey with these simple considerations, you will start to take control of your consumption and start making measurable reductions. It is a key part of the strong foundations for a robust energy management system and can provide meaningful data for a more in-depth and detailed study which will return more substantial consumption savings and carbon reduction.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Business Structure, carbon footprint, carbon reduction, Carbonfootprint, carbonreduction, energy, Energy Audit, energy efficiency, Energy Management, Energy Saving, energy savings, Energy Strategy, Energy Survey, energy waste, reduce consumption, Save money

If you don’t do any other Energy Management, do this – it will save you money!

30min consumption data

Ask for your consumption data from your Energy Supplier

The simplest and most basic way to begin to manage your energy consumption is to monitor your usage levels from your meter readings. Many business premises will have a meter which sends consumption data to your supplier. Requesting your data from them will allow you to identify your average consumption patterns, your lowest running rate and your highest kWh consumption. More importantly, it will allow you to identify where energy is being wasted. For example, if the heating or cooling is operating outside of work hours, or plant has been left running on high when production is at its lowest, then it will be identifiable through the consumption data. Whilst gas suppliers can currently give us a daily overview, data direct from your electricity supplier is more useful, as increasingly commercial premises have meters which download consumption information half-hourly.

How much energy do we really need to use?

In many organisations, energy consumption is a fixed cost, a necessary overhead and traditionally we have paid the bills and thought nothing of it. However, in this age of volatile and ever rising energy costs, we don’t want to stick our heads in the sand and ignore the fact that we don’t actually know what we use, where, and whether it’s being wasted. For example, we have heard from a well-respected energy manager who, through analysis of consumption data for a hospital laundry, identified high levels of usage out of hours. Their normal operating days were Monday to Thursday. To the shock of the Hospital Management, consumption analysis showed clearly that as well as the normal Mon-Thur consumption, the laundry was operating, and consuming, Sat-Sun as well. Investigations showed that a member of staff there had a profitable side-line going; they’d been using the facilities to launder football kit from a local Saturday League for at least 3 years.

Simple Spreadsheets can show wasted energy

Whilst this sort of occurrence tends to be an exception rather than the norm, it does highlight that commercial energy consumption has historically been seen as a necessary but relatively insignificant overhead, justifying little management attention. Ever-increasing costs mean it can no longer be ignored, next to staff costs it is the second highest financial liability, and in some energy intensive industries, the single biggest operational cost. A simple excel spreadsheet can graph your consumption levels, making it easier to identify where there is unexpected or wasted energy consumption. In our experience, every client has had some sporadic or unplanned energy consumption, out of working hours, that could be minimised through simple steps.

Identify your significant energy users and consumers, start to forecast consumption

For those who want to put in place more sophisticated controls, sub metering of significant users and highest consumers is the next step. This means that specific energy management can be undertaken and forecasting can be effected. There are some great bits of software out which track consumption, align it with the electronic building management systems (BMS) and monitor specific and significant consumers within the business, sending alerts to flag up unplanned consumption. Some software, linked to BMS or standalone units, can control lighting, heating, cooling, water temperature and other building functions, allowing a level of control and management which will ensure all energy consumed within the building is controlled and accounted for.

Try the simple things first, look at your consumption data

Back to basics though, if just want to make a start and simply better manage your consumption, through analysis of your usage, taking regular meter readings or obtaining regular data from your energy supplier is the first step. If you take measures to minimise the excess usage, or just reduce the consumption spikes out of hours, it’s this information that it will make a practical difference – and who knows, once you’ve seen the benefits you might want to install a more robust and comprehensive Energy Management System.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Business Structure, carbon reduction, EnCo's, energy, Energy Companies, energy efficiency, Energy Management, Energy Management Roadmap, Energy Saving, energy waste, Metering, reduce consumption, Save Energy, Save money, UK Governement

Energy Efficiency and making savings, it’s all about Change

Change Management

Energy Efficiency, it’s all about Change

The cost of energy is forcing organisations to look at the way they consume their energy resources. This will allow them to improve their competitiveness and reduce their operating costs. It is impossible for any business to operate without using Energy and any programme of measures to improve efficiency should impact all the people within the organisation and this means CHANGE.

Everyone needs to Change to a greater or lesser degree

To gain maximum energy efficiency savings, ideally each individual within the workplace should take ownership for minimising the energy they personally consume in the execution of their duties. This will mean, to varying degrees, a change in the way their jobs and daily tasks are carried out. It might also mean a change to the way people and departments interact with each other or a change to operating procedures and guidelines.

Energy Management doesn’t need to be painful, we have all experienced Change.

However, most businesses are familiar with the Change Cycle and it is understood that in order to ensure a change programme is successful, individuals within the organisation will need to go through the psychological processes of transition. Transition allows people to come to terms with the new situation and routine.

Classic behaviours and feelings exhibited when implementing an Energy Management System (EnMS)

There are classic feelings, behaviours and emotions associated with change and they are likely to be seen in the roll out of any Energy Management System (EnMS). It impacts all areas of the business and introduces new methods of working, roles and responsibilities, targets and objectives, processes and procedures; it is a prima facae programme of change. The emotions, behaviours and feelings you will see during the process are not necessarily all negative though, as we can see in the table below:

Table 1: Common feelings and reactions associated with change

Negative

  • Resentment
  • Anger
  • Nervousness
  • It’ll never work
  • Loss of motivation
  • Low morale
 Positive

  • Positive
  • Optimistic, Excitement
  • Intrigue, Motivation, Challenge
  • Confident, Interested, Engaged
  • At last, enthusiastic learning
  • Full of energy, A challenge.

Don’t discount your people’s feelings – we’re looking for Acceptance

What we are aiming for ultimately is acceptance and to achieve this we should remember that people may not see the need for change and many will have preconceived ideas and points of view regarding the validity and veracity of the planned change.

Behaviour changes can be a challenge

For example, a recent survey carried out by Gebs Energy shows that 75% of consumers are worried about the cost of energy but haven’t made any changes to their homes or domestic behaviours to reduce their consumption. They are so used to turning lights on, thermostat up or down, leaving their PC on at the end of the day, etc. Whilst they are worried about the impact in their own pockets they may not necessarily understand the importance and rising energy costs may have on the company they work for and if they haven’t started making behavioural changes at home, despite worrying about rising costs, they are unlikely to do so at work unprompted.

Refine your energy efficiency plan by listening and communicating

Communicating, understanding, listening and being prepared to accommodate other people’s ideas allows the refinement of your own energy efficiency plan, making it easier for the workforce to accept. Central to any change programme is the management of people, their perceptions and expectations. Listening to them and valuing their point of view should engage them sufficiently to engender belief in the ‘new way’ and a desire to see it succeed.

Change will bring its own energy efficiency rewards

While it is currently impossible for any business to operate without using Energy, in the near future it will be become impossible for any business to operate without using Energy Management. A lot of change will be necessary between now and then.

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Business Structure, businessconsultancy, energy, energy efficiency, Energy Management, Energy Management Roadmap, Energy Saving, energy waste, reduce consumption, Save Energy

Energy Management: Don’t just pay the bill

ビジネスシーン 会議

We don’t make mistakes

Last week I was told by an employee at a local college, as they dealt with a query for me, that they had been ‘doing the job for 10 years and don’t make mistakes’. The person in question was quite happy that I speak with their manager, also was a long term fixture, as they would verify that no error had been made.

As it happened, and to my relief, they had made a poor call by treating my problem as ‘business as usual’ and not taking the time to understand my more unusual situation.

Never presume you know the answer to the question

In fact it wasn’t ‘business as usual’ but new circumstances arising out of very recent changes. After a bit of a tense time, the problem was eventually resolved. In future I hope they listen a little more carefully, adapt their processes to ensure up to date information and training for the appropriate people, but also do not presume they know what the answer is before properly understanding the question.

Traditional Energy Management vs Fresh Eyes

In a similar vein, most of us have been managing our energy in the traditional format for many years. We are very competent at paying the bills when they arrive, have environmental and production plant serviced regularly and ensure life-cycle upgrades, and replace equipment with more energy efficient models as the need arises. But complacency, a lack of current-thinking awareness or a bigger-picture view may still hinder our opportunities to maximise our consumption savings.

For example, in the more customary approach one person within the organisation may have responsibility for environmental comfort, the buildings integrity and the maintenance of the HVAC equipment. There might be someone else responsible for the effectiveness of plant and production technologies. In addition to others ensuring the bills are paid and the plant replaced at the end of its life-cycle.

Integrated Energy Management – Maximise the savings

Whilst not being the wrong way to manage energy, this is not necessarily the most efficient way. A fresh approach to ensure that your business maximises its energy savings and minimises its costs and overheads could be to adopt a more integrated and informed stance:

 

  1. Don’t just pay your energy bill, understand it – kWh’s, capacity charge, standing charge, per unit cost (and applicable times and rates).
  2. Track your half-hourly data usage, understand your minimum and maximum consumption periods
  3. Understand who are your significant users and consumers
  4. Identify and track back on unnecessary consumption spikes
  5. Report your findings to the Operations Managers and Building Services Managers. So they can take steps to minimise wastage or, when appropriate, justify consumption peaks
  6. Ensure your procurement people understand that energy efficiency is a valid reason to replace older equipment, especially if the payback period can be improved by energy consumption savings
  7. Procurement should also understand your supply contracts. Being out-of-contract with your energy supplier can be a very costly slip.
  8. Listen to your Building Services Managers when they ask for service contracts or remedial repair work to the building. It may seem a ‘nice to have’ but they know that this will save the business money in the short, medium and long-term.

Energy Management don’t just do what you’ve always done

The fact is, Energy Management isn’t something we have had to think about too much before, it was always a fixed and fairly affordable cost and, as such, has been done the same way for many, many years. Whilst we haven’t been doing it badly, the rules out there have changed; so ensure that your business has not been left behind, has listened to and clearly understood the new challenges.

Gebs Energy can provide a free energy management health check for your business, email us on info@gebsenergy.co.uk to see whether you are ‘business as usual’ or using energy management as a competitive advantage.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: best practice, building services, Business Structure, consultancy, crc, energy, energy efficiency, Energy Management, Energy Saving, energy waste, fixed costs, Next Steps, procurement, utilities

Good Energy Habits and Savings Begin With Observation

manufaktura, Łódź

Take a Good Look, It Might Just Save You Money

Many of us spend at least 40 hours, 5 days a week at our place of work. That might be an office, school, hospital, warehouse, factory, shop etc. Day in, day out, we traipse to and from our desks and workstations, with our thoughts on what we did the evening before, the children, our partners, plans for the weekend, the rotten journey or parking situation.

We may be thinking about the weather and probably what is in store for us in the day ahead. Lots going on mentally in the journey but when was the last time we actually considered the physical site we work in?

What Might You See?

It is fascinating to look at the actual premises with a purpose in mind. It can provide vital clues and quick fixes to help reduce our energy costs. So for a change, on any day, take a step back and really look at the building, you will probably see, at least one or more of the following:

 

  • Lights on in empty spaces or on a bright day
  • Windows open whether it is a hot or cold day and often despite
    aircon or heating
  • External doors left or propped open
  • Fire Exits propped open
  • Loading bay doors propped open
  • Skylights and windows dirty
  • Windows and doors, ill fitting or broken
  • External walls with holes in them
  • Air-con units covered in dirt and debris
  • Security Lights stuck ‘on’ in broad daylight
  • Pipes dripping

Every Kilowatt Hour Counts

Whilst there may only be a few of the above list which are relevant to your particular place of work, any of these examples can account for wasted kWh, which equals unnecessary cost and carbon tax. If you are a multi-site business, and if this is replicated across your organisation, then the cost to your business will naturally increase proportionately.

Switch Off – Turn Off

A simple solution to help minimise unplanned energy consumption is to put in place basic shut down and close down routines. Our businesses will benefit from each and every employee following a ‘switch-off, turn-off’ plan at the end of their day, operations permitting.

To ensure that it given the necessary importance, it can be embedded within an individual’s role and responsibilities. Energy ownership can be as prescriptive as required, especially if that individual has responsibility for large consuming processes. However, in most cases, a general statement about energy management is sufficient.

End of Day Routines Make a Difference

Expanding this idea, we have found that including a walk-round routine at the end of the day, by a designated individual who can observe and note unnecessary consumption, works very well. They might take steps to eliminate it there and then or, if it is more complex, start the process of a review leading to consumption reduction.

Take Action, Don’t Ignore It

Mind you, there has to be a robust and timely action and resolution process in place. I’m sure we can all agree that there is nothing more frustrating and disheartening than identifying a problem, using the formal reporting process as has been requested, then waiting weeks before the problem is rectified, if at all. Imagine how annoying and disheartening it would be a person in one part of your building to be continuously having to turn off lights in another part of the building because those in the relevant Department are wilfully ignoring the company line without consequence.

Good Energy Habits and Savings Begin With Observation

Good Energy saving habits begin with observation, how are we currently wasting our resources? Where are we wasting it? What can we do differently? Observation is free and can be done by everyone and, if it is, then energy saving becomes everyone’s responsibility. In summary when energy consumption is owned by the individual then more kWh are saved.

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: building efficiency, business process, Business Structure, carbon reduction, crc, energy, Energy Audit, energy efficiency, Energy Management, Energy Management Roadmap, Energy Saving, Energy Strategy, LED, lighting, lights.office light, organisational behaviour, reduce consumption, Save money

ENERGY MANAGEMENT ROADMAP

Outside The Office

An Energy Management Roadmap? 

A map, a route, a pen picture, a plan, a strategy. If you build a house, would you get an assortment of bricks, timber and roof tiles then just throw them together and hope for the best? When you go away on a trip, do you just set off and hope you get to your destination?

A Project with out a Plan?

And how about business Projects? If you don’t know what you are trying to do, how will you know when you have done it? If you don’t know where you started from, how far have you come and far is there still to go? How do you know your business is doing the right things, the things that offer the greatest return for the effort?

Don’t ‘Just Do It’

Nike has a slogan ‘Just Do It’ and we’ve seen “Energy Specialists” urging customers to ‘Take Action’ forget about the Consultants report. However a good consultants report should provide you with a plan to succeed, deliverables and choices that ensure the biggest positive impact for your spend. It is also a starting point for you to decide whether you have the capabilities in-house to do what’s necessary or to identify what help you need to make those gains.

Energy Audits, a Stake In The Ground

Every experienced Energy Management Consultant knows that the Energy Audit is the first step to managing consumption costs. It is proposed that the Energy Audit will be a NON-NEGOTIABLE action, under proposed EU Law. It is also a key part to implementing ISO50001:2011 Energy Management Systems, which may give exemptions from parts of EU legislation. These proposals will legally require a company to submit Energy Reports and without an Energy Audit you could face legal repercussions and fines; you would certainly not be eligible for ISO50001 certification.

Even without that, it makes sense to have one though. You see an Energy Audit has inherent value of its own. It brings together in one place your businesses energy profile. It identifies what types of energy you are using, how it is paid for and how you are currently consuming it. It looks at the technology in-situ, its age, its efficiency, operating times, condition, current and potential efficiency and whether it is well maintained including any service records.

Buildings, Lighting, Ventilation, Heating, Controls, HVAC

A thorough Energy Audit takes into consideration your premises, your occupancy times, how it’s maintained and what condition it’s in e.g. poorly insulated pipes, dirty skylights and windows, holes in the walls, broken windows. It looks at how the environmental and lighting systems are controlled, when they were last serviced or upgraded and what controls are in place.

Not just the wastage but the good consumption patterns.

From analyzing half-hourly consumption, the findings of a good and comprehensive Energy Audit should identify where energy is managed well and where there is wastage and suggest practical steps to make change and provide cost-effective solutions to reduce consumption. It is the turning point, the Vanguard for change and energy efficiency.

Due Diligence and a Viable Business Case

If a double-glazing Salesman turned up at your front door and promised you an instant solution to your growing domestic energy costs, purely by replacing your windows, you’d be dubious. Even if the double-glazing was a good price and you had the money, you would still want to consider whether it might be better spent on solar panels, a replacement boiler, new radiators, roof insulation etc. On reflection, you may not need to spend anything, perhaps you just need to find a cheaper tariff or turn the heating off in the rooms you don’t use or when you are out.

The point is, you would ensure you had properly analysed the situation and formed a clear idea of what would yield the best results before you started, certainly before you spent any money. Why should it be any different at work?

Energy Audits Have Value

Surely it’s inconceivable that a well managed and mature business would consider a programme of significant change requiring substantial capital expenditure on the word of a travelling salesman, without the necessary supporting business case and due diligence? Take Action, Forget about the Energy Audit and Consultants report? You’re not going to do that, are you?

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Business Structure, carbon reduction, energy, Energy Audit, Energy Management, Energy Management Roadmap, Energy Policy, Energy Saving, energy savings, Energy Strategy, energy waste, Next Steps, Project, Save Energy, Save money

Energy Management – Why are those first steps so hard?

Word now circled in orange on a notepad

Procrastination – Fear of Failing?

The hardest part of every report I write is the beginning. It is the first paragraph which causes me the most difficulty. Although many of our findings are common across our client’s businesses, that first paragraph has to be relevant and cause the reader to want to read on. Starting it is also the time when I tend to procrastinate or delay, I might decide that moment is a good time to catch up with my filing, check the web-feeds for Energy Efficiency news, do the office washing up and dare I say it I even log into Facebook, anything rather than sit down and make a start on that report.

I do sit down though and I do force myself to write those sentences; as one of my MBA Lecturers said, once you’ve made a start on that first paragraph the words will flow.

It is easy to do the same with any problem or challenge but the solution tends to be the same. If we look at Energy Management. We all acknowledge that rising prices are a problem and that there’s things our business really needs to do about it. We also, if we think about our consumption, probably have a pretty good idea where and how in the organisation it is being wasted. So why are we procrastinating and leaving things as they are?

Why Don’t We Manage Our Energy?

Some of the reason’s we’ve been given for not tackling energy efficiency are

‘surely my PC/lights/phonecharger being left on won’t make a difference’

‘you don’t understand our business, it’s not that progressive’

‘the board aren’t interested’

‘we have so many other initiatives and processes, we don’t have time for Energy Management’

‘but I’m too hot / cold normally’ (dependent on the weather)

‘we might upset the ladies upstairs’

‘the ladies get cold’

‘the ladies are of a certain age’ (ladies seem to get the blame an awful lot when it comes down to office temperature)

‘we don’t have the time’

‘we started it but no-one was interested so we don’t do it any more’

Energy Management, Not Extra, Just DIfferent

Often the simplest explanation is that businesses don’t know where to start the task of managing their energy consumption. Like getting the first words down in the paragraph it is easier to focus on something else rather than grasp the nettle and get on with it. Energy Management does not have to be ‘extra’ work, but it does mean doing things differently and smarter. It doesn’t mean your office has to be too warm/cold or uncomfortable for ‘ladies of a certain age’ – it just gives you control.

Gain Control, Make Savings

Once you have control and energy consumption transparency you will start to make savings; which the Board should be interested in because it reduces overheads and tax liabilities and, given that the phone charger left on is probably one of many within the organisation, the new routines will show clearly that switching of unnecessary equipment will make a difference.

Get Started, See Results

Finally once you get started, the results of your endeavours will drive the programme forward and the fear of failing will be replaced with the satisfaction that you are making a difference.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Business Structure, carbon reduction, crc, energy, energy efficiency, Energy Management, Energy Policy, Energy Saving, energy savings, Energy Strategy, Fear of failing, ISO50001, procrastination, Save Energy, Save money

Energy Teams a crucial part of ISO50001

 country image 2

Keeping Cool

Today the temperatures in the UK are soaring again. Currently, outside our Gebs Energy Offices, it is 82 degrees C – although I’m not going to complain about the weather.  Our workspace is an old barn conversion but we don’t have air-conditioning.  However we still have the benefit of comfortable temperatures, as our walls are massively well insulated on top of solid stone-wall construction, and that combination doesn’t let the heat through.

Gebs Energy to the Rescue

But this blog is not about our insulation levels. Today I was carrying out some ½ hourly data analysis when a dog barking disrupted my concentration. Every time I tried to put my mind back to the work in hand, the dog interrupted my efforts; and this went on for a good 45minutes.  Given the fact that we love our own dogs, and 2:30pm is not a good time to walk your pet on such a hot day, I decided I’d better go and check that the dog wasn’t lost or with an owner who had collapsed with heat exhaustion.  So I set off in this sweltering heat and headed out over the fields and into the woods a good mile and a half away, while the dog kept barking.

When I arrived at the wooded glade close to where the noise was coming I met an elderly couple sitting on a log, the dog was playing at their feet. Feeling a little self-conscious I explained what I was doing up in the woods (dressed in work clothes, carrying a dog lead, a ball but no dog). I explained to them that I just wanted to check they, and their dog, were all okay.  Luckily, they appreciated my concern and explained that their dog just likes to bark when it plays and, after a bit of a chat, off I went back across the dusty fields and into the office.

Motivation

Once in the cool with an iced water, it got me thinking about my motivation for this adventure. I went out there for good reason. Some people may call it nosiness, but I’m simply not one of those people who can sit back and wait for someone else to take responsibility.

Building your energy team

In any workplace, department, section or team you can find similar types of people. They’re always looking to see what might be on the horizon, anticipating problems and willing to help find solutions. Once they have been given the reasons and justifications, such people tend to embrace the new approach to Energy Management and efficiency. They are the ones you need to incorporate and harness into your Energy Teams.

Teams built from all stakeholders

Your Energy Team should help the Energy Management System to be embraced by all within the business.  Our tip for your Energy Team is that it should have cross-functional representation, not just the normal health and safety reps, which we commonly find. A broader cross-section allows for all opinions and ideas to be considered and evaluated. Other key stakeholders to include are your Trades Union, if applicable, and their traditional adversaries from your own HR Department. This helps smooth the integration of any new procedures or working practices and shows that the Energy Policy and Strategy has been properly considered.  Input from the former grouping adds weight to what you are proposing to the staff, shows it is reasonable and fair and this in turn makes it simpler to get the shop floor onside.

Energy Teams a crucial part of ISO50001

Energy Teams are a crucial part of ISO50001 implementation.  Getting the mix right can be challenging but, if done well, can speed implementation and make Energy Management more successful and proactive. The Energy Team can be a channel for new ideas and engagement as well as making the process more relevant to all stakeholders.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Business Structure, energy, energy efficiency, Energy Management, Energy Policy, Energy Saving, Energy Strategy, ISO50001, team building

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