Published: 11th August 2022
Our summers see soaring temperatures and winter has us concerned about rising energy prices. Or, as the Financial Times would put it, climate change is being ‘shoved in our face’.
Climate change affects all of us.
But how does this important issue impact your business?
You may already be making steps to ensure your business is as energy-efficient and climate-friendly as possible, or perhaps you are curious about what you can do to help reduce the carbon footprint of your business. You might also be worried about costs and how not only climate change but also the action required could affect your income.
The first step is to calculate the carbon footprint of your business. Your carbon footprint is a measurement of the greenhouse gases you produce. All businesses, from sole traders to multinational companies, have a carbon footprint. Some examples of what contribute to this calculation include:
Fuel consumption – this could be from your business premises and any vehicles used by the company. Other factors could include employees commuting to the workplace, deliveries and more.
Energy consumption – this will refer to electricity used by the company in the workplace.
F gas (fluorinated greenhouse gas) consumption – some equipment found in the workplace (such as air condition units, refrigerators and fire equipment) requires topping up with F gas.
For some businesses, the environmental impact will be lower, due to the size of the premises, the number of employees, the nature of the business and a host of other factors.
Even a small change can make a big difference. Here are five ideas for reducing the carbon footprint of your business:
Reducing your carbon footprint is good for the planet, but is it good for your business? Here are some>benefits to combatting climate change in your workplace:
BEM Services provide energy saving assessments for businesses across the United Kingdom. Whether you are working with an architect on new business premises or require your current workplace to be assessed to the highest standard, BEM Services are the experienced, skilled, adaptable name you can trust.
Take our work with David Nieper. This busy fashion manufacturing business was looking to reduce both their carbon footprint and their energy bills. Despite already boasting solar panels at their factories, they were still using large amounts of gas and electric to power their textile facility. Some machines were not sufficiently heating the water used in the printing, washing and dyeing process, whilst wastewater was being pumped from the building at around 40 degrees Celsius.
Having calculated the existing energy usage – as well as monitoring the temperature of the wastewater – we liaised with heat pump manufacturers to extract the heat from both the wastewater and air from the machines. Having fully costed a number of options and calculated the carbon reductions, we settled on a final design. This reduced the carbon footprint of the factory by at least 50%, with energy cost savings of over 40%. This would have seen the project paid for itself within seven years, an incredible result that protects the purse strings, and the planet.
For more projects and more information about what we can offer your business, visit the website at www.bem-services.co.uk.