Integrating sustainable strategies into your business is something companies across the UK are placing greater emphasis on in recent years. The emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives is more pronounced than ever. For businesses, understanding the nexus of ESG and energy is vital for a variety of reasons. These include building trust amongst stakeholders and consumers, and the environmental benefits.
In this blog post, we will be delving into the world of ESG and energy, by discussing ways your business can integrate sustainability and become more energy efficient in the process.
Understanding ESG
ESG is a set of standards that measure your business’ impact on society and the planet. Below we will break down the three central components of ESG.
Environmental – this refers to all factors that may have an impact on the environment. Most notably, energy use, waste, and pollution. Your EPC rating will be taken into account here.
Social – This is where your company’s social impact will come into play. How you treat your employees and how you contribute to local communities will be taken into account when evaluating your business under ESG criteria.
Governance – This refers to how a company is run, factors like the transparency of a company and how the business holds accountability are considered under governance.
Why ESG is important for businesses
ESG principles have become fundamental criteria for assessing a business’ sustainability and overall success. ESG is not just about complying with regulations, businesses that have good ESG practices gain a competitive edge too.
Due to consumer demand for transparency and socially conscious investors, ESG has become vital for companies across the UK. ESG can effectively enhance a company’s reputation, and increase the appeal for potential investors.
Another reason highlighting the importance of ESG is that it can help identify opportunities for growth and innovation within a company. For example, having the tools to measure your companies energy performance can help your company become more sustainable with energy usage, which could boost your EPC rating.
How to integrate sustainability practices into your strategy
The first step in making a sustainable change by integrating ESG into your strategy is by understanding where your company currently is with energy consumption. Conducting an energy audit will help you identify areas for improvement and where your company can improve efficiency and sustainability. An energy audit involves analysing energy usage, assessing equipment and evaluating operational practices.
If you’re looking into integrating sustainable strategies into your business, why not start by exploring our 100% UK Wind Power? Please contact our team to learn more.
Read Article
In the current UK business landscape, becoming sustainable is increasingly important. For many business owners, measuring energy performance is crucial for enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and meeting regulatory requirements. In this blog post, we will be discussing how to measure energy performance by breaking down the key metrics and indicators, so you have a clearer understanding of your business’ energy performance.
The importance of energy performance
Before we delve into the key metrics, it’s important to understand how energy performance affects a business and how it is measured. Energy performance is simply a measure of how efficiently businesses use energy in the workplace. Your business building is measured on energy performance through an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating.
Understanding EPC ratings
An EPC rating is a key measurement used to measure a business’ energy performance. EPC ratings are graded between A- G on overall performance. Grade A means your premise is very energy efficient, and a G rating indicates your premise is less efficient.
An accredited energy assessor can provide you with your EPC rating. Having a higher rating is important as it reflects on your businesses sustainability image, and it can extend the building’s lifespan, boosting its value.
If your workplace currently has a low EPC rating, there are ways to enhance energy performance to improve this.
Conducting an energy audit to review your energy performance
A key way to review your energy performance is through an energy audit. This can give you key insights into your workplace energy performance and offer ways to improve your energy efficiency.
What does a business energy audit do?
An energy audit assesses how your business uses energy and identifies areas for improvement to enhance efficiency and improve overall energy performance. An audit examines key metrics and measurables, below are some examples.
Key metrics and measurables
Energy cost: Refers to the financial cost of energy for your premises.
Carbon emissions: This assesses your businesses environmental impact, through tracking your energy waste.
Energy consumption: Refers to measuring the overall amount of energy that your building uses.
Energy intensity: This refers to the amount of energy used per unit of production.
An energy audit helps to track these key metrics, and suggests areas of improvement to improve your overall energy efficiency. By implementing the suggestions from your audit, you can help your business become more sustainable and energy efficient.
Business smart meters
A business smart meter allows you to track your energy usage, allowing you to see exactly how you’re using your energy and provides insight into how changes could be made.
Smart meters allow you to have greater control over your businesses energy usage, providing key information into spending and usage.
For more information about smart meters and would like to register one, please contact our team.
Read Article
As any business owner will know, making a wise investment needs to deliver some sort of return. Whether this is a financial reward or growth opportunity.
As the world turns its attention to the ever-growing demand for green energy sources, businesses can play a significantly influential role in the change we can make as a society towards becoming more sustainable. Some of the biggest businesses in leading industries have already made a conscious effort to make a switch to green energy, investing in green energy projects and schemes, as well as going green across their business operations. By doing so, there is plenty of opportunity for return on investment. In this blog we explore why going green is more than just an ethical move but also a wise financial decision for any business.
How To Invest In Green Energy
Whether big or small, there’s a wide range of options available for businesses hoping to invest into green energy. Putting the right foot forward towards a more sustainable approach to business and a healthier, greener planet.
From renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power to innovations supporting the sustainable transformation of the energy sector, green energy investments work to replace fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy.
Many renewable energy providers are emerging, allowing businesses to directly invest into green energy projects. Companies can also choose to purchase renewable energy credits or carbon offsets as a way to support the development of green energy and reduce their carbon footprint.
The Financial Benefits Of Going Green
While investing in green energy may require an initial investment, it ultimately leads to long-term financial benefits for businesses. Here are just a few ways that going green can pay off financially:
Cost Savings: Switching to renewable sources of energy can result in significant cost savings over time. This is because renewable sources often have lower operating costs and do not rely on finite resources such as fossil fuels which are subject to market fluctuations.
Tax Incentives: Many governments offer tax incentives and rebates to businesses that invest in green energy. This can help offset any initial costs and make the transition more financially feasible.
Brand Reputation: Consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of their environmental impact, and many are actively seeking out companies that align with their values. By investing in green energy, businesses can improve their brand reputation and attract a larger customer base.
The Long-Term Impact
Aside from the immediate financial benefits, investing in green energy has long-term effects on both the environment and society as a whole. Reducing your business’ carbon emissions and your carbon footprint, you are contributing towards a greener planet and a healthier environment for future generations to live and grow. While the environmental impact will not happen immediately, over time the planet will benefit.
To Conclude…
This is just a few examples of how to invest into green energy and the reasons why. In order to benefit from the ROI of green energy investment, now is a great time to reconsider your approach to business energy and make a positive impact on the environment.
Get in touch with our friendly team to discover D-ENERGi 100% UK Wind Power and get advice on switching to renewable energy for your business.
Read Article
Committing almost £5 billion worth of investment to help businesses across the UK achieve net zero, the UK government has committed to supporting businesses, big and small, make the changes they need to go green. With green energy incentives such as funding grants and schemes, businesses can access the financial support they need to make big changes.
In this blog, uncover how you can access this financial support and what it can do for business, big or small.
Sustainability funding for small businesses
For small businesses in the UK, there’s a range of options for financial support. The UK government has created their Find a Grant service, which allows businesses to search the government website for relevant grants and funding schemes. While some schemes are location-based and only applicable to certain types of businesses, the tool allows you to filter and select certain criteria, helping to pinpoint funding that your business may be eligible for.
Specific local authorities may also have a budget for funding for local businesses too. Details of which can be found here.
The benefits of government-backed funding schemes
By accessing green energy funding through government-backed schemes, businesses can fully embrace the transition to sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices. These incentives offer numerous benefits for businesses, including:
Financial support: The most obvious benefit of these schemes is the financial support they provide. By reducing the burden of initial costs, businesses have more capital available to invest in other areas of their operations.
Competitive edge: In today’s society where consumers are becoming increasingly conscious of sustainability and environmental impact, implementing green energy solutions can give businesses a competitive edge. By showcasing a commitment to reducing their carbon footprint, companies can attract eco-conscious customers and potentially increase sales.
Cost savings: Implementing green energy solutions often leads to cost savings. Making running a business a little more financially viable. Particularly in times of hardship, with rising energy costs and the high cost of living, keeping costs down, such as business energy costs, is important for all businesses to stay afloat.
Positive brand image: Adopting green energy practices can also improve a company’s brand image. Customers are more likely to support businesses that align with their own values and beliefs, especially when it comes to sustainability. By showcasing commitment to reducing environmental impact, companies can build a positive reputation and gain customer loyalty.
Meeting regulations and targets: Many countries have set goals for carbon neutrality or reducing emissions by a certain date. By embracing green energy solutions, businesses can stay ahead of potential future regulations and meet these targets early on.
While there may not currently be support available for your business, it is always a good idea to keep an eye out for latest updates and new schemes from the government. And, with a new Labour government in power, there’s certainly potential for updated financial support to be added to the list of current grants.
If you’re currently struggling with your business energy payments or would like more advice, do not hesitate to get in touch with our team at D-ENERGi. We can supply you with a free quote or advice and guidance to help you cover your energy payments.
Read Article
Call for free 0800 781 7626 to speak to one of our friendly Customer Services team during business hours and reduce your business energy prices!