There are lots of ways to reduce your business’s energy bills and carbon footprint such as upgrading lighting and equipment, installing renewables and improving the fabric of your building. And, just because your business might not be able to make any of these ‘big win’ upgrades right now, it doesn’t mean improving your environmental performance has to stop.
In fact, there are a number of things your business can do right now to become more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. What’s more, many of them are things that tend to get buried at the bottom of to-do lists under busy business-as-usual circumstances.
Why not take some time to implement these seven actions now and help your business embrace a green recovery?
1. Get on the best energy tariff
According to research conducted by Ofgem in 2018, less than 25% of small businesses in the UK switched their energy supplier.
Switching tariffs is a great and potentially quick way for your business to cut costs and boost profits. A few hours spent checking that your business is on the correct energy tariff can pay dividends in the long run.
If you would like to make sure you’re getting the best deal, check out this recent webinar from our energy advisors as they explain how to shop around to find the best tariff for your business.
2. Write an environmental policy
Having a meaningful, well-articulated and up-to-date environmental policy will keep your business on track, in terms of its environmental compliance and performance. Importantly, it can also help you communicate your ‘green’ credentials to your customers and stakeholders.
If you don’t have an up-to-date environmental policy, here’s some free advice, example policies and a handy checklist that will help you quickly write a policy for your business.
3. Train to become a CPD-certified Green Champion
Why not use this time to upskill yourself and enhance your CV by becoming a CPD-certified Green Champion using our free online training? The course is already helping organisations across Scotland save energy and money by providing knowledge, tried-and-tested techniques, best practice examples, and free tools and templates. You can work through each module at your own pace too.
So, what are you waiting for? Train yourself and get the skills and knowledge that over 1,600 business professionals have already learnt and are now saving their workplaces energy and money.
You can create your free account here.
4. Encourage staff to become more energy efficient
An engaged workforce can really reduce your energy use and minimise costs. Edinburgh Leisure is a great example – it saved £41k thanks to staff engagement and behaviour change.
To help you motivate your staff to save energy, we have a comprehensive staff engagement toolkit. It contains a step-by-step campaign plan and is packed with free resources to help you engage your staff, such as professionally designed campaign materials; posters; stickers; and a full, customisable staff-training programme.
5. Set up systems to monitor energy use
Measuring and monitoring your energy use is an essential first step to saving energy. You can’t manage what you don’t measure after all.
Using good measuring and monitoring techniques helps you stay in control of your business’s energy use, costs and environmental impact. Knowing how to effectively measure and monitor energy use is a valuable skill that all organisations should learn, regardless of size or type of operation.
To get started, download and start using our energy tracking spreadsheet today.
6. Grab a free energy efficiency assessment
If you are a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) based in Scotland, give our friendly team of advisors a call on 0808 808 2268 (or fill in this form) and ask them to arrange a free and impartial energy efficiency assessment of your business.
An energy efficiency expert will review your business and identify areas where you could save energy. Their assessment will be written up in a detailed report showing you the recommended energy saving projects you could implement and provides estimated costs, savings and payback for each recommendation.
The support is completely free, independent and impartial – and there is no obligation to implement any of the recommendations we make. 9 out of 10 businesses who receive support recommend it to others.
7. Be inspired by the Green Network For Businesses
Be inspired and learn from a whole host of Scottish businesses that are already taking action to save energy, cut costs and reduce carbon emissions.
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