Use KPIs to assess your energy use correctly

Changing patterns of behaviour can lead to wasted profits, so it pays for you to stay in control.

Even the act of measuring and monitoring can have an impact. Think about it… all those people who go ‘step counting’ every day, thanks to the explosion in the market for fitness activity trackers, are a visible testimony of this ‘what gets measured gets done’ phenomena.

And when it comes to measuring and monitoring your energy use, setting meaningful KPIs is essential.

What are KPIs?

KPIs, otherwise referred to as key performance indicators, are a metric used to evaluate factors that are crucial to the success of your organisation.

Think of it this way – imagine you only monitor and act on basic energy consumption data (kWh). Last month, you noticed a drop in energy use. Is that good? Has your performance improved? Is your business becoming more energy efficient? Or could it just be that sales were down last month, or a lot of staff were on holiday, and that drove down energy use?

KPIs differ from setting to setting. For businesses, KPIs like net revenue and customer satisfaction levels have always been important to measure and monitor. Increasingly, environmental KPIs are being added to the measuring and monitoring activities of leading businesses.

What environmental KPIs should you use? 

When choosing environmental KPIs, you need to consider the activities of your organisation that drive resource use.

While it is good to track fluctuations in your basic energy use, KPIs are needed to reveal the underlying performance of your business. This level of understanding is vital if you want to make improvements and stay in control.

Characteristics of a good KPI for your business 

Measuring and monitoring business performance is critical, but focusing on the wrong key performance indicators can be detrimental. So can poorly structured KPIs, or KPIs that are too difficult or costly to obtain and monitor on a regular basis.

Good KPIs should follow the Six As:

1. Aligned

Your KPIs should align with the strategic goals and objectives of your organisation.

2. Attainable

The KPIs you choose to measure should have data that can be easily obtained.

3. Acute

KPIs should keep everyone on the same page and moving in the same direction.

4. Accurate

The data flowing into the KPI should be reliable and accurate.

5. Actionable

The KPI should give you insight into the business that is actionable.

6. Alive

Your business is always growing and changing. Your KPIs should evolve as well.

Let’s help you put that into context for your own business. Here are some standard KPIs that should meet the Six As criteria for your business…

Food industry KPIs

Your resource use will be driven by the number of covers served and the number of hot drinks will also drive energy use.

So, a good KPI you should try to track could be:

• kWh per cover served and per hot drink sold

At the same time, you could also look at setting KPIs for:

• Water: m3 per cover served
• Waste: tonnes of recycling per cover served; tonnes of
  general waste per cover served and tonnes of food waste per cover served

Hotels KPIs

Your resource use will be driven by the number of occupied rooms and the number of guests.

A main KPI to track could be:

• kWh per occupied room and per guest

Consider also: 

• Water: m3 per occupied room and per guest
• Waste: tonnes of recycling per occupied room and per guest; tonnes of general waste per occupied room and guest

Manufacturers KPIs

Your resource use will be driven by the number of units produced and number of shifts worked.

An essential KPI for you to track will be:

• kWh per unit produced and per cycle/shift

Also helpful would be:

• Water: m3 per unit produced and per cycle/shift
• Waste: quantity of raw materials purchased per unit produced; tonnes of recycling per unit produced and per cycle/shift; and, tonnes of general waste produced per unit and per cycle/shift

Offices KPIs

For you, energy use will be driven by the number of staff working in the office.

A relevant KPI could be:

• kWh per number of staff working in the office

If you want to set further KPIs, take a look at:

• Water: m3 per number of staff working in the office
• Waste: tonnes of recycling and tonnes of general waste per number of staff working in the office

Retailers KPIs

Energy use will be dictated by the number of hours you are open.

So a good KPI to track will be:

Factors you’ll likely want to take into account include the footfall/number of attendees and the number of showings or events.

So, tracking this KPI would be effective:

• kWh per footfall and number of events

You can also add into the mix:

• Water: m3 per footfall and number of events
• Waste: tonnes of recycling and general waste per footfall and the tonnes of general waste per footfall and numbers of events

By focusing on these KPIs and regularly measuring and monitoring them, you will be able to make the appropriate adjustments to keep your organisation as efficient as possible, helping improve your profit margins and creating a healthier, greener environment. Our free energy usage tracking spreadsheet has everything you need to get started.

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