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How can one effectively prioritize energy savings while pursuing long-term sustainability goals?
22 February 2024
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Using less energy is an excellent way for companies to save money and positively impact the environment. However, ensuring that energy savings go hand-in-hand with long-term sustainability is also important. Keep reading as a few professionals share their advice on achieving these goals.
Have a well-structured plan in place
When organizations utilize sustainable energy sources, they ensure that the energy they consume is directed towards the sustainable production of goods and services. This not only aids in meeting energy demands but also significantly impacts economic growth through sustainable production practices. The company’s expansion should not lead to an increase in energy costs, as this could hinder the company’s growth.
Maintaining over 80% of energy from renewable sources, such as hydro, in a company can ensure stable energy costs despite increasing user demand. [Because] renewable energy is cheap, this approach not only supports sustainable energy usage but also enhances revenue generation by effectively meeting user needs.
Having a well-structured plan in place is crucial for the successful implementation of these initiatives.
Prioritize projects with high ROI
Do projects as they make financial sense, so the ROI stays high enough to warrant [them]. For example – maybe air sealing, insulation, LED lighting, and a few other efficiency projects around your home or business are equal to or better than, say, bonds or even the stock market at 10-12% average return per year. Even if it’s solar or wind power – if any project can equal or beat these returns, perhaps it makes sense to do so.
As the technology for heat pumps (HVAC and water heating, for example) gets better over time, more of these projects are warranted. You don’t have to do them all at once. Even solar can have a pretty great ROI depending on where you live and [other] variables.
This way, you can prioritize the best low-hanging fruit/bang-for-the-buck projects while increasing your sustainability over time.
Embrace energy cycling
Energy cycling is using energy when it’s most abundant and least in demand—for example, charging your electric vehicle or running your dishwasher during off-peak hours. This reduces strain on the grid and allows you to take advantage of lower energy prices during these times.
In the long run, though, this practice could help with sustainability goals — it could cut down on peak demand and increase the use of renewable energy sources, which frequently generate power inconsistently throughout the day. It’s a small change, but it could make a big difference.
Sergey Dvorkin
President of Flex Moving and Transport.
Look closely at available technologies and set realistic goals
Businesses can enjoy an average of nearly 80% energy savings from running business applications in the cloud rather than on-premises infrastructure.
In the gas sector, several organizations are collaborating to improve the efficiency of existing gas pipelines, including natural gas plants and regulating stations.
Once executives know what constitutes renewable energy and how their firms may begin working toward sustainability promises, it’s time to look more closely at the technologies available in your industry. It is critical to set realistic goals.
The correct technology might also give you a competitive advantage.
This is a crowdsourced article. Contributors’ statements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of this website, other people, businesses, or other contributors.
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