Welcome to Consultus Sustainability
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With energy costs continuing to rise, this presents a growing concern for businesses with already stretched budgets. At the same time, energy use is a significant contributor to emissions, making effective energy management an important part of any wider sustainability strategy.
A well-designed energy management plan can help your business identify where energy is being used, reduce unnecessary waste and improve overall efficiency. By taking a structured approach to energy management, you can reduce both costs and Scope 2 emissions, whilst also building a more resilient and sustainable business.
In this guide, we explore why an energy management plan matters, the benefits it can offer, and the practical steps you can take to create and implement a plan that works for your business.
An energy management plan is a step-by-step plan of action designed to help you take control of your energy, spot areas where you can improve your performance and put practical measures in place to reduce consumption, costs and waste.
It provides a structured approach to understanding how your business uses energy and lets you set clear targets and track your progress over time.
The exact measures will depend on your business, premises and energy needs, but an energy management plan may involve:
A successful energy management plan involves a combination of effective planning and practical measures, which can offer a range of benefits for businesses:
When creating an energy management plan for your business, it is important that you take a strategic approach to ensure you get the best results.
The key steps you should follow include:
In order to make progress, it is important to establish a baseline to measure your progress against. This means creating a clear picture of your business’s typical energy use before you start making changes.
This could involve reviewing previous energy bills and consumption data and recording your current energy costs. Having this starting point gives you something to compare against and helps you set realistic, measurable targets for improvement.
Our recent study of the UK materials handling industry found that when asked about their energy use and how they measure it, only 4% of respondents said they felt they tracked their energy use ‘very well’ and felt confident in identifying hotspots of high usage. And this seems to be reflected across businesses of all sizes, across industries.
Regular tracking is an essential part of any business energy management plan and will allow you to gain a deeper understanding of when and where your energy is being used. There are a number of effective ways you can do this:
It is important to set clear, realistic and measurable energy reduction targets to help keep your energy management plan on track. You should consider short and long-term targets, focussing on reducing kWh consumption, energy costs and carbon emissions. Targets should be achievable but still ambitious enough to drive change
It is also important to assign responsibility for individual targets so there is clear ownership and accountability. Communicating these goals to employees can help ensure everyone understands what the business is trying to achieve and how they can do their bit. Finally, targets should be reviewed regularly and adjusted where necessary to reflect changes in the business, energy use or wider circumstances.
Use the data from your monitoring and audits to identify where the biggest savings opportunities are. This involves looking at energy-intensive equipment and processes specific to your operations as well as lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation.
Building performance is another key area to consider in your energy management plan. Energy used for heating and cooling can easily be wasted through poor insulation, draughts, single-glazed windows and gaps around doors. Reviewing the condition of your building can help you determine where improvements could have the greatest impact. It is also worth reviewing building controls to ensure heating, cooling and ventilation systems are only operating when they are needed.
You should also ensure your equipment and building services are being properly maintained. Poorly maintained or inefficient equipment can consume more energy and may be more likely to develop faults. Regular maintenance can help ensure systems continue to operate efficiently whilst extending their lifespan.
Once you have measured your energy usage and identified areas for improvement, the next step is to turn your findings into a clear plan of action. This should set out the specific measures you want to introduce, prioritising the actions that are likely to offer the best energy and cost savings. Setting clear timescales and completion dates for each action can help keep the plan on track and make it easier to monitor progress.
Where possible, include estimated costs, potential energy savings and expected payback periods for any investments. Your energy management plan could cover a range of measures, including building improvements, equipment and lighting upgrades, heating and cooling improvements, renewable energy projects and changes to operational processes.
It is also important to assign responsibility for each action, as this will help create accountability and ensure certain tasks do not get overlooked.
Finally, you should treat your energy management plan as an ongoing project, rather than something that is created once and then forgotten. Be sure to review it regularly, record any actions that have been completed, monitor the results and add new any opportunities as they are identified.
Employees play an important role in reducing day-to-day energy waste and may be more likely to spot small things that upper management may miss.
When creating your energy management plan, try to engage your employees at every stage of the process, ensuring that your team is aware of your company’s energy targets and why they matter.
Provide simple guidance on energy efficient behaviours such as switching off equipment when not in use, managing heating and cooling systems properly and using lighting efficiently.
It is important that you make energy efficiency a part of your day-to-day workplace practices and operations rather than a one-off campaign. You should also encourage employees to suggest their own ideas for reducing energy use and share regular updates on progress and successes to help keep people engaged and motivated.
For many businesses, energy and sustainability reporting are an important part of staying compliant, avoiding potential penalties and keeping track of your energy use and environmental impact.
As you develop your energy management plan, it’s important to understand which regulations and requirements apply to your business. Start by identifying the requirements relevant to your business, including what information needs to be reported and any key deadlines you need to meet.
Rather than treating compliance reporting as a separate administrative task, try to build it into your wider energy management process. Set clear responsibilities for collecting data, reviewing information and completing submissions, and keep a central record of important reporting deadlines. It’s also useful to record any energy saving opportunities you identify, along with any actions you’ve taken or plan to take as a result. Keeping this information up to date can support reporting requirements and frameworks such as ESOS, which require businesses to report on energy saving opportunities.
Regularly reviewing your data throughout the year can also help you spot errors before a report is due, reducing the risk of last-minute issues.
Energy management shouldn’t be treated as a one-off exercise. Once your energy management plan is in place, it should become part of the day-to-day operations of your business. Regularly reviewing your progress will help you understand what is working, identify areas for improvement and make sure your strategy continues to work for you.
Be sure to review your energy bills and monitor the data you collect regularly to track changes in consumption and costs and assess whether the energy-saving measures are working effectively.
It’s also important to carry out periodic follow-up energy audits. These can help identify new opportunities for reducing consumption. You should review and update your energy management plan whenever there are significant changes to your business, such as replacing large pieces or amounts of equipment or changing how your operations are carried out.
Once you begin to see progress, you should revisit your targets and set new ones, using your progress as an opportunity to improve even further. Keeping employees informed about progress, results, and any changes to the strategy can also help keep them engaged and the momentum going.
At Consultus Sustainability, we understand how important an effective energy management plan is in a sustainability strategy, whilst also understanding that running a successful business can often leave little time for extra work for your inhouse teams. That’s why we offer a range of services designed to make your energy management seamless, from support with reporting, to full-business strategies to help you reach your energy goals.
To find out more about how Consultus Sustainability can support you, or to find out more about the services we offer, get in touch with our team today.
