New research from British Gas Business shows that almost two thirds of companies do not know who is responsible for energy efficiency or don’t have a dedicated energy efficiency manager.
This fragmented approach is making it difficult for organisations to take a strategic overview of their energy consumption, despite cost reduction pressures and energy efficiency legislation.
The findings by British Gas Business are reinforced by a recent industry survey by Datamonitor of 447 organisations with an annual energy spend of more than £300,000 where they asked for the job title of the person with main responsibility for energy management. Just 23% had a dedicated energy manager. Facilities managers were the second most likely to look after energy, with 18% taking responsibility for this area.
The rest of the picture is fragmented, with ownership split between managers in a range of areas including accounts (4%), general management (4%), finance (3%) and procurement (3%).
Energy management is one of the simplest ways for organisations to cut costs, especially in the current economic climate. In addition, increasing environmental legislation and the growing importance of corporate social responsibility are making good energy management an imperative.
To help organisations save money and meet regulatory requirements, British Gas Business has introduced Energy360, a full set of services to enable its customers to monitor and manage their energy consumption and reduce their energy costs by up to 10%.
As part of the Energy360 service, energy consultants from British Gas Business can act as a dedicated energy efficiency manager for businesses to advise organisations on their energy strategy, recommending products to monitor and manage infrastructure, energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
“Having a full-time member of staff dedicated to energy management is an advantage, as it helps organisations take a strategic view of their energy consumption, work out where energy is being wasted, and invest in the right efficiency measures,” says Jeff Whittingham, energy efficiency director at British Gas Business.
“Facilities, finance or procurement managers all have other things to worry about – energy management is just one small part of their remit. But energy management in large companies is arguably a full-time job, especially in organisations with multiple sites.
“If you don’t know exactly where energy is being wasted, it’s impossible to identify the efficiency measures that will deliver the best cost savings. Our Energy360 service helps organisation understand how and where their energy is being used and what measures they can take – through monitoring and auditing to implementing and maintaining energy efficient technologies that meets cost reduction pressures and growing environmental legislation.”