Green bridge phil evans energy saving booklet 2012

Phil Evans

The Business Owner’s Essential Guide to

ENERGY EFFICIENCYEverything you need to build a more

ethical, more profitable business

Phil Evans


ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Everything you need to build a more ethical, more profitable business

Copyright © 2011 Phil Evans.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author(s).

Edited by Tom Stevenson.

Designed and printed by NABO.

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The Business Owner’s Essential Guide to Energy Efficiency

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Contents

Introduction .................................................... 4

Why your business needs to be energy efficient .............................................. 7

Understanding compliance (or Using Compliance to Improve Efficiency) .............. 11

How going green can save you money and improve your business ......................... 15

Establishing credibility ................................ 19

Your carbon footprint ................................... 22

Conclusion ................................................... 26

About Green Bridge ..................................... 27

A Special Reader Offer ................................ 29

Testimonials ................................................. 30

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IntroductionConsumers and customers have a far greater understanding of the impact a poorly managed business has on the environment than ever before. And because of that, along with the increasing need to validate environmental or carbon management credentials, it’s more important than ever for businesses to implement a robust energy & environmental policy. Unfortunately, although many businesses understand this in principle and have taken some action, they rarely change the way they do things from top to bottom and are unlikely to involve the very people who can have the biggest impact.

It’s unfortunate, but that’s how it is. Many businesses start with good intentions and develop some form of ‘green’ policy but fail to act with any real conviction. This means that the policy loses credibility and those employees who could actually make a difference are not motivated to do


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so. Even service providers, like those who undertake maintenance and other facilities’ management functions, are not made responsible for meeting energy reduction targets. This is absurd, as it is precisely these kinds of organisations that are ideally suited to make huge savings (including financial, energy and carbon savings) for their clients by just adapting what they already do.

I’ve spent more than twenty years helping businesses develop and implement environmental and energy strategies and feel it’s more important than ever that business owners begin to understand that a green business is a profitable business and it is worth investing in.

That’s why I’ve compiled the most essential things I’ve learnt throughout my career and now advise my clients on in this booklet. My aim is to help you understand how energy efficiency can not only save you money, but improve your business as well.

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Remember, although environmental awareness is rapidly changing the way we do business, we should look at this as an opportunity. When you have finished reading this booklet you will see exactly what I mean.

Phil Evans Green Bridge

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Why your business needs to be energy efficientThe most obvious reason is the financial benefit. An energy-efficient building is so much cheaper to run than one left in the hands of those with no energy management experience. Think of all the people and companies who work in, or on, your building – how many of them actually know (or care) about the cost of running it?

Although building services (air conditioning, heating etc.) are generally not a high priority issue (unless they’re not working) it just makes good business sense to invest in their upkeep. I’ve seen too many organisations cutting maintenance budgets and employing the cheapest engineers to look after their building assets, resulting in costly and unpleasant places to be in. This short-sighted approach means minimal maintenance (and more often than not, poor quality), which leads to the premature failure of

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expensive pieces of equipment; reduced staff productivity; poor energy ratings and risks slow take-up of rentable space.

The bottom line is inefficiency is costing you money and potentially losing you customers!

That’s just the beginning. Many business owners fail to grasp that becoming energy efficient is an incredible opportunity to set themselves apart from their competition. Increasingly, environmental legislation is forcing companies to state their green credentials and those that can prove they perform well will be preferred by potential clients or customers who also have to adhere to their own environmental requirements. There are still plenty of companies who see environmental legislation as onerous; but the truth is, if a positive approach is taken, it will secure more business and help you keep existing clients.

It’s really important for you to remember that by demonstrating you’re energy efficient,


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you will immediately stand out from your competitors.

In one of my previous roles I found myself involved in a major programme of refurbishment and I was trying to influence the design of the buildings to be more energy efficient and not just focussed on the aesthetic. This was pre-recession, at a time when there was less environmental awareness than there is today. One of the senior decision makers had a ‘marine’ background and in an effort to get my point across, I used the following analogy…

If we were building ships and not refurb’ing buildings, they would be sinking before they left dock. We wouldn’t know how far they could go, how much fuel they would use, whether they could actually handle adverse weather… you get the idea. Needless to say, it didn’t go down too well and style won over substance, leading to buildings that were incredibly expensive to run and almost impossible to maintain.

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One particular organisation spent millions on a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system as they wanted to ‘go green’ and generate their own electricity cheaper than they bought it from the Grid. The trouble was they had not considered the condition of their buildings first (which were wasting 50% of the energy they consumed) and therefore the system was massively over-sized. Funnily enough, the design and installation company were not exactly interested in pointing this out. The lesson here is, if you have money to invest make sure you know where your energy is being used and how much of it is being wasted and put that right first.

When you decide to take action, do the simple things first and make energy efficiency your number one priority!


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Understanding compliance (or Using Compliance to Improve Efficiency)The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the Carbon Reduction Commitment (Energy Efficiency Scheme), the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, Climate Change Levy & Agreements, Building Regulations Part L...

If you’ve heard of any of these, it’s probably because you’re already involved, but that doesn’t mean you should rest on your laurels. You may well be affected by more than one of them and could be no more than a misstep away from a fine and some bad publicity.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) has three requirements and the one causing the biggest stir right now is Air Conditioning Inspections. If you have air conditioning in your building, you should have already had it inspected and had a report generated by an accredited inspector. As it

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is a compliance issue, many businesses will roll their eyes and say, ‘more money for old rope’. Don’t look at it as an inconvenience – look at it as an opportunity to identify ways to improve the efficiency of a building, thereby reducing running costs, initiating a shake-up of any complacent service providers and adding to the credibility of your business.

The industry press is still concerned that most air conditioning systems have still not been inspected. If you’re serious about establishing your green credentials, it’s essential that you remedy this, as your local Trading Standards Officer will soon be paying you a visit and asking to see your report. If it’s not available you’re at risk of a fine, as well as negative publicity that could damage your green credentials.

In addition to the ACIs (Air Conditioning Inspections), there are also EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates) and DECs (Display Energy Certificates).


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An EPC is required if you’re selling or letting space in a building. So if you’re renting space within an office block, did you ask for the EPC? If not, you need to ask your landlord for it as it will help you budget for energy. Although you could argue that it is not your concern, if you don’t have one, you should certainly be concerned if you have any sort of green policy in place. You will be blowing holes in its credibility if you cannot find the time to be compliant with a piece of legislation that has been in force since 2008!

The DEC looks at the management and operation of the building and needs to be reviewed annually. The fact it is an annual review is intended to force building occupiers to frequently monitor their usage and take action to improve it. If you leave the heating on when the building is empty, or run air conditioning when it’s cold outside...or worst of all, if you run air conditioning and heating at the same time, you will be wasting a vast amount of money on unnecessary energy.

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This will in turn be stated in the DEC and it is this kind of bad publicity that will always find a way into the media.

A DEC is aimed at public buildings at the moment, but as the EU increases the pressure on the member states to improve energy performance and reduce carbon emissions, you can be sure that the rules will change and eventually all buildings will be required to have an ACI, EPC and DEC. It’s not unreasonable to assume that they will all have to be renewed annually.

The message to take away is that whatever you’re doing now to meet environmental legislation, you should expect to be ‘encouraged’ to do more in the not-too-distant future. The businesses that recognise this, make a plan, budget for it and take early action will be able to keep ahead of the changes and look cool, calm and collected, whilst their competitors struggle to stay in control.


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How going green can save you money and improve your businessWith the economy in its present state, any opportunities to save money are welcome.

Every business can save money with good energy management. I’ve carried out hundreds of surveys throughout my career and I’ve always found opportunities to reduce energy costs by 20%. Actually, 50% savings are possible, but it will mean investment and a very critical look at every design strategy, management technique, operating procedure and maintenance regime. But in these increasingly frugal times, any company that wants to survive needs to look at every aspect of its existence.

Even if you decide not to invest money in slashing your utility bills, good housekeeping and better management of the building can be accomplished by providing energy

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awareness training for your staff. This provides an excellent return on investment, and can even be accomplished for free with the right approach.

There are a huge number of ways you can train staff to shave down the cost of your utility bills. But the most cost-effective approach would have to be behavioural change – simply getting your staff to ‘care’ about their work environment and making them see that helping control costs is good for them as well as for the company. Just think how much you could save if your staff adopted such simple habits as turning off the lights when they weren’t needed, which could develop into a much larger ‘switch-off’ campaign…

You may be thinking that it’s been done before, or it doesn’t sound particularly awe-inspiring. Nonetheless, remember that gaining the support and cooperation of your staff is essential for any initiative you want to implement, spectacular or otherwise.


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Start with a staff awareness campaign. Ask for volunteers and get them to drum up some support from the rest of your staff (better this way than giving them the sense that Management are imposing something on them). Make sure that there is visible and verbal support for the volunteers from the top brass and that means attending the meetings, even if it’s just at the start to warm up the crowd. Even if you bring in someone to deliver the training and to guide the volunteers, the savings will more than cover the cost and the rest can be invested in other energy saving initiatives. And yes, you will need to spend some money if you want continued support from your staff and the campaign to have any credibility.

Picture the scene – you have a business with a dedicated and engaged workforce who see their employment with you as more than just ‘turning up’. They want to work hard and work for you. This can all start by simply getting a group of them together, identifying

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a common problem or goal and giving them the support to fix or achieve it. Staff that feel empowered are going to work harder and be more productive. Once established, that kind of ethos can make a huge difference to the overall effectiveness (and profitability) of your business.


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Establishing credibilityIt’s all well and good proclaiming your dedication to energy efficiency, but how do you actually prove it? How do you establish credibility?

A good starting point is ISO50001, which is the international energy management standard. It’s based on the same processes and procedures as 9001 and 14001 so if you have those you will recognise the format. ISO14001 covers all aspects of environmental management, including energy, but energy has become so important that it has resulted in its own management standard. And, keep in mind that working towards 50001 will result in energy-related savings that can help to fund other cost-saving initiatives or even the additional costs associated with attaining ISO14001.

If your organisation has to go down the pre-qualification questionnaire route before being able to tender for work, then you may

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have already come up against issues relating to your company’s credibility. If you have ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO18001, ISO50001, Investors in People etc. then you will be able to get past the PQQ and actually bid for work, but attaining all of this is expensive.

My advice to you is to aim for ISO50001 first, as you will become comfortable with the ISO way of working. It will also result in cost savings that can keep you moving forward.

Attaining an ISO is an obvious demonstration of your organisation’s environmental credentials. In addition, it will open doors to potential clients that have more stringent selection criteria and will make your company far more attractive to your prospects. Don’t miss the opportunity to use your new ISO for keeping your company at the forefront of your market by issuing press releases and other, effective social media techniques.

There are numerous other environmental awards and each professional or trade body


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has their own variation. Just remember that once you’ve attained your ISO, you have already won the ‘Oscar’. Before you go after any other award, ask yourself if it is really worth the effort – will it open new doors, or is it just green bling?

So, there are serious opportunities afforded by going green. By being able to demonstrate that you have serious green credentials, you can generate some excellent PR for your business and vastly increase your profile...just be selective about what awards you go for.

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Your carbon footprintThe whole issue of carbon is massive in the UK now. Put simply, carbon equals energy.

The UK is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 80% by the year 2050. This commitment means there are going to have to be fundamental changes in the way that we generate and use energy.

The Government is pushing generators to produce greener electricity and they will (eventually) make all businesses in the UK more energy efficient (and therefore reduce the carbon footprint) by continuing to increase the cost of and legislation relating to energy. If you don’t know what your carbon footprint is right now, you had better start gathering together the utility bills for all your buildings (rented or owned), the fuel used in your company vehicles and (if that isn’t enough) identify what mode of transport and how far your staff travel to work. If you’re really keen, you should also


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start investigating your supply chain and ask questions on their carbon footprint. The carbon footprint can grow far beyond your office and inevitably will if we are to achieve the legally-binding target of 80% by 2050.

It therefore goes without saying that any business needs to be considering their carbon footprint right now if they are not already. Whether you like it or not, you’ll have to deal with this issue eventually. But rather than waiting and having it forced on you, why not treat it as another opportunity to show a business differentiator?

If you’re not already affected, you may be in the future by the Carbon Reduction Commitment. Bigger UK organisations are having to buy and sell tonnes of carbon they emit through their use of fossil fuel and electricity. So not only are they buying electricity and gas to allow them to operate, but they are paying for the pollution that electricity and gas causes. Could there be a more effective incentive to improve energy

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efficiency, than the thought of, effectively, paying for the same thing twice?

Actually, there is...

You’re already paying twice for the same thing, now add to that the uncertainty of how much electricity and gas will cost the next time you have to renew your contract and the uncertainty of how much a tonne of carbon will cost if you have to buy extra to cover your CO2 pollution. From now on, when you think of carbon, you should think of the carbon market. Like all markets, where there is uncertainty, there is risk – and where there is risk, there are higher costs to pay.

Those companies who choose to begrudgingly accept all of this environmental legislation as just more forms of tax, without recognising that it is all aimed at fundamentally changing the way we do business in the UK will, I imagine, carry on as they’ve always done. They are in for a mighty shock as they will soon find themselves losing their existing


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clients and unable to acquire new ones, as they can no longer offer out-dated carbon-intensive services or products.

Those organisations who see the issue of carbon as an opportunity either to make money from being so efficient that they can sell carbon credits, or are able to offer alternatives to energy-intensive solutions will become the successes of UK business.

So will it be survival of the fittest, or survival of the greenest?

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ConclusionBy now, it should be clear that making your business energy-aware and efficient is the right thing to do as we move ever closer to a low-carbon economy.

I hope this booklet has been both interesting and informative and provided you with a fresh perspective on the issue of energy efficiency. Remember, you should always look at building a green business as an opportunity, not a chore. If you bear this in mind when implementing everything you have learnt, the benefits will be enormous.

Good luck!


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About Green BridgeMy name is Phil Evans and I’m the founder of Green Bridge.

Throughout my 20 year career I’ve worked in the public sector, various corporate organisations

and consultancies and have even been the Energy and Environmental Manager for Imperial College, London. The specialists I’ve worked with, the clients I’ve worked for and the experiences I’ve gained mean that I am now an expert in energy and environmental matters.

It’s because of these experiences that I realised that, although energy and environmental issues need addressing for a whole range of moral and ethical reasons, it was not being tackled with any serious degree of commitment, always languishing at the bottom of a company’s list of priorities.

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My mission soon became clear: I needed to make sure that companies could see a financial advantage in tackling the complexities of environmental compliance, or the simpler (yet often ignored) issue of energy efficiency.

It’s this that eventually led me to found Green Bridge, to educate others about the value of energy awareness and to equip them with the means to implement it in their businesses.

My services emphasise simple, practical solutions for the problems businesses face with energy wastage. I don’t offer solutions unless they make good financial sense and so paybacks are calculated whenever possible. This, coupled with my passion for my work and years of experience, mean I am able to offer all businesses a solution that fits their specific energy needs.

Just visit my website to find out more…

www.greenbridgeservices.com


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A Special Reader OfferIf you’d like to find out more about making your business energy efficient, I’d be delighted to help you do it. In fact, I’d like to offer you a consultation over the phone, completely free, where we’ll talk in detail about your business’ energy needs and what you could be doing to both save money and protect the environment.

To arrange your free consultation, just contact me by email at [email protected], or give me a call on 07854791854.

I look forward to speaking with you!

Phil Evans

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Testimonials“Phil is a very diligent and hard working person and his expertise within the Energy sector has proven to be invaluable. His understanding of the engineering and maintenance sectors enabled him to develop and deliver energy based services that complimented our core business. It allowed us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. His experience has enabled Westway to understand more about this market and recognise the number of different opportunities it provides to gain market share.”

Andy Donnell, Managing Director, Westway Services

“Enthusiastic, knowledgeable and committed. Outstanding at building relationships with clients.”

Ian Crosby, Principal Consultant, AEA Technology


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“I worked closely with Phil when he undertook the role of Senior Energy Manager supporting the EMCOR – GSK R&D account. It was Phil’s drive, personality, communication skills, leadership and most of all his passion that sets him well-above his peers and allowed him to succeed against very demanding targets and time frames.”

Ian Van Nierop, Divisional Director, EMCOR Facilities Services

“Phil is a very approachable, hard-working and straight talking, energy and business professional. He is highly regarded in the area of energy management and is well networked. On the occasions that I have met Phil, I have found him to be extremely well informed and a pleasure to deal with.”

Andy Cartland, Managing Director, Acre Resources

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“I had the pleasure of working with Phil at Westway Services. Phil has a huge amount of enthusiasm and passion for his work. This was very infectious and resulted in high levels of morale for all that worked with him. I hope our paths cross in the future.”

Andrew MacBride, HVAC Engineer, Westway Services

“Phil is dedicated, driven and exceptional in his chosen field of expertise along with commercial astuteness. He is capable of formulating and implementing strategy as well as excellent tactical delivery. I would recommend Phil for any Senior Executive role.”

Heidi Teague, Consulting Performance & MI Manager, Johnson Controls

“Very experienced Energy & Project Manager. Reliable, friendly, sees the job through to fruition.”

Bob Jauncey, Technical Development Manager, RWEnpower

Nowadays, businesses are expected to be more environmentally friendly than ever before. Unfortunately, there’s so much information floating around and so many seemingly complex regulations that teaching your business to ‘think green’ can seem like an impossible task.

That’s why I wrote this book.

My name is Phil Evans and I’ve spent more than 20 years helping make businesses more energy-aware. Contrary to popular belief, it is not only possible, but easier and more cost-effective than you could ever imagine to build a business that’s not only environmentally friendly, but profitable as well.

Inside you’ll learn…

• Why you need to be energy efficient – and why you should look it as an opportunity• Everything you need to know about compliance with environmental

regulations• How to bring your workforce on board with energy efficiency• How to make massive savings on your utility bills• How carbon is changing the way we do business• How to use your green credentials to generate publicity

And much more!

Whatever the nature of your business, these tips are guaranteed to help your business boost both its green credentials and its profits.

www.GreenBridgeServices.com


ENERGY EFFICIENCYEverything you need to build a more ethical,

more profitable business

Green bridge phil evans energy saving booklet 2012

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