A campaign aimed at increasing the energy efficiency in businesses, charities and public sector bodies has been launched by the government.
The campaign is targeted at small and medium sized businesses and will offer guidance on how they can make energy savings with measures such as light and heating timers, turning down boiler flow temperature and changing light bulbs.
A new website will help organisations access simple, low-to-no cost advice, outlining a range of possible actions.
Examples of businesses already benefiting from energy efficiency measures:
- LED lighting allowed a carpark in Bedford to cut their average annual lighting costs by 50%. Lurke Street Multistorey Carpark installed lighting throughout their premises in 2017, replacing older, less energy efficient lighting. By installing a smart meter they were able to actively track and compare year-on-year savings – on average £50,000 per year – allowing them to build business cases for further investments.
- Marlec Engineering, a wind turbine manufacturer in Corby, switched to energy saving lighting as part of a range of measures to make their business premises more energy efficient. The company replaced T8 Fluorescent lamps with new, energy saving LED tubes. The lighting did not reduce light levels in the office and achieved a 60% saving on lighting costs.
To make sure as many businesses as possible know about the campaign, it will be promoted through paid advertorial across TV, radio, social media and more, and we are seeking to promote this through partnerships with the British Chambers of Commerce and Federation of Small Businesses.
It follows the launch of the government’s £18 million ‘It All Adds Up’ campaign last year. This provides similar advice for households, saving them hundreds on their energy bills, and saw UK sales of ‘draught protection products’ on eBay double shortly after the launch.
Minister for Energy Efficiency and Green Finance Lord Callanan said:
Falling wholesale energy prices are welcome news, but this in no way changes our firm, long-term commitments to vastly boost UK energy efficiency across industry and households.
From today businesses, charities and public sector bodies can access helpful and practical advice on simple actions they can take to substantially reduce their energy use – and potentially increase profits.
Not only will this help lower operational costs by up to hundreds of thousands of pounds, but smarter energy use will help us deliver on our critical pledges to cut demand by 15% and reach net zero by 2050.
Adrian Dennis, Managing Director of Marlec Engineering, said:
Our business works with an absolute focus on sustainable energy solutions. We’ve invested in electric company cars and eco-friendly packaging. But upgrading to LED lighting is low-cost, and one of the simplest ways to promote sustainability in-house and save money on utility bills. We’d encourage other businesses to upgrade as well.
