subject: Energy Cost Savings Lead To Environmental Gains [print this page] Almost every organization in existence today is unable to turn a dime unless they use an element of energy in the process. This total reliance on energy reflects strongly on the balance sheet and corporate utility bills are the subject of much attention, with frugality in mind.
Business leaders, like their politician counterparts, realize that energy security is pivotal to their success and of extreme importance in planning terms, moving forward. As using energy would be very essential for every organization, companies need to take energy costs savings seriously where there is an opportunity.
Almost every organization in existence today is unable to turn a dime unless they use an element of energy in the process. This total reliance on energy reflects strongly on the balance sheet and corporate utility bills are the subject of much attention, with frugality in mind.
Energy cost savings form part of a solution to the problem of corporate sustainability. Energy management strategy must reflect the volatility of this arena. We have seen spikes in the cost of oil and other fossil fuels and know only too well that these sources are finite. Attempts to explore the viability of alternative energy solutions are laudable and progressive, but represent less than one tenth of potential capacity.
The cost of energy is outpacing inflation and we have seen the cost of raw power increase over 110% in the last 10 years with an increasing and accelerating trend. Management teams have been charged with the responsibility of implementing energy cost savings, as and where possible. Each and every employee within the enterprise is told that it is his or her responsibility to make sure that wastage is kept to an absolute minimum.
Energy liability actually has two defined sides. To begin with, it can involve energy security from the supply chain and its consequent costs, followed by the implementation of energy efficient programs. Both factors reflect the organization's environmental stewardship, partly due to a wish to become far more efficient from a security and cost perspective, but also from a wish to be seen as environmentally progressive.
Learning lessons of the past when it comes to energy use will help a lot of companies map out better energy plans ahead. Starting any plan for the future from scratch could be more effective in realizing efficient energy cost savings. An example can be taken from the construction industry, whereby energy-saving techniques can be used like 'green building' and using renewable sources of energy.
Historically, it is often rather difficult to replace complete systems within any organization to take advantage of energy cost-saving programs. In these cases, retrofitting is a much more palatable option. In any case, the "status quo" is not acceptable and organizations may not simply turn their back on a problem as an increasingly agitated public requires us all to address the issue of sustainability quickly.
For organizations looking to capture energy cost savings at point of use, smart devices are available to help explore energy metering in real-time. These smart devices may be programmed to allocate energy to the associated asset according to "best use" practices and utility bills may be digitized, allowing for much more precise accountability.
