So this is it, 2012 is ‘the big year’ where real energy reduction success will be revealed in the CRC League Tables and energy price rises bite further into profit margins. There’s no better time to drive that initiative forward and make those reductions.

To get you started here are two tips to consider.

1. Create a clear strategy that others can follow:

As with any ‘journey’, a sustainability strategy must be well planned, thought out and easy to explain. After all you don’t want programmes to conflict, duplicate or baffle the audience.  The GAIA Path is one such simple methodology to help decide what to do and when. It works on the premise that actions need to be placed in the right order and scheduled at the right time to maximise impact. For example employee engagement sits in the ‘Manage’ step at the front with carbon trading at the end in the ‘Offset’ step.  Learn more about it here:  GAIA Path.

2: Recognise your role is to influence others:

Once you’re clear on what your plans are you need to engage others.  An Energy Managers success greatly depends upon their ability to influence others from the Chief Executive to the Cleaner. To do this we advocate starting with a compelling message. It has to be more than just ’saving money’ or ‘reducing carbon’ which will have little appeal and make everyone feel guilty. Consider something aspirational like a commitment to ISO 14001 or a Green Policy commitment to your customers.

To understand how to do this and obtain 19 more ideas on how to enable a sustainable culture in your business, request a Free copy of our Sustainability Handbook Click here to request booklet.

Good Luck!

Haydn

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One of the greatest challenges for businesses is engaging their staff within the energy saving program. When achieved the next challenge is to sustain these messages.

Our 5 top tips to create a sustainable energy saving message:

1) Create a team to lead the initiative from diverse parts of your business.

2) Identify good ‘connectors’ people who are good at selling messages within a business.

3) Ensure energy consumption is part of the regular management meeting agenda.

4) Use the energy data visually – print of weekly reports and display on a notice board.

5) Broaden the project within a wider Corporate Social Responsibility project or within ISO14001. This increases the likelihood of longevity.

GAIA

www.gaiaactive.com

See how you can save with GAIA: Get a FREE energy evaluation.

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Gaia Theory

Gaia Theory asserts that living organisms and their inorganic surroundings have evolved together as a single living system that greatly affects the chemistry and conditions of Earth’s surface. Scientists believe this “Gaian system” self-regulates global temperature, atmospheric content, ocean salinity, and other factors in an “automatic” manner.

Originally proposed by James Lovelock as the earth feedback hypothesis, it was named the Gaia Hypothesis then Theory, after the Greek supreme goddess of Earth.

Lovelock now more recently believes that it is now too late to avoid significant global heating and significant climate change which will make large parts of the Earth’s surface much less hospitable for humans. Lovelock thinks the time is past for sustainable development and that we have come to a time when development is no longer sustainable. He proposes that we need sustainable retreat from an impending Climate Storm; that we must retreat in an orderly fashion from the coming threats to our global habitat, to mitigate adverse impacts on human health and happiness.

Sources: www.gaiatheory.com & The Revenge of GAIA by James Lovelock.

GAIA Active

GAIA Active Limited was set up in 2007 to help businesses respond to the improved energy efficiency requirements needed to mitigate the effects of climate change. Punitive carbon taxes on businesses alone will fail to promote sustainable improvements, what’s required is a behavioural shift in our exploitation of energy resources.

Sustainably retreating from our excessive use of energy won’t be easy and we cannot expect people to cast away their hard earned luxuries and freedoms. GAIA Active believes the solution lies in the openness of businesses to share their consumption information with an empowered and energy educated workforce. An Energy Efficiency programme is a unique situation where all staff from the CEO to the Cleaner can play an active role in the success of their business. By engaging this collective support, businesses can roll back energy waste and save money. GAIA helps companies act on how to save energy and sustain their achievements.

GAIA Active 2009

www.gaiaactive.com

GAIA Active have no direct relationship with Mr Lovelock.

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One of the great challenges with energy efficiency is maintaining your savings.

If you insulate your home or office this type of saving is secured as long as you leave the walls alone, but most energy saving activities requires human involvement/engagement so when you have the team on side you need to maintain this behaviour. Staff turnover, new business initiatives all pull staff attention quickly away from energy efficiency.

The challenge for any business is to keep energy efficiency firmly on the business agenda. Energy efficiency must become a constant business process, if you see it as a quick fix the savings will be lost quicker than you achieve them.

GAIA 5 Tips to Maintaining Savings.

1) Create an Energy Saving Team – involving a wide range of members from within your business.

2) Set a Business Goal to save energy that the team can work to and ensure they read your energy consumption data frequently to feedback progress.

3) For users of the GAIA platform set an energy consumption alert to monitor your consumption peaks. This will ensure you are informed should you reach capacity limits.

4) Create and Energy charter/statement of intent connected to the company culture or brand.

5) For users of the GAIA platform set an energy consumption alert to monitor your weekend/out of hours.

GAIA

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Energy Efficiency & Conservation at Work – Utliize your greatest resource!

Research from the Carbon Trust (September 08) points to UK industry wasting £7 million a day due to poor energy efficiency. The problem is not large scale industrial process but encouraging staff to turn off computers and lights, turning down the heating, or maintaining equipment properly.

Galvanise staff actions and raise spirits

For businesses eager to cut costs, running an Energy Saving Campaign is one of those few initiatives in a business where every employee from the cleaner to the CEO can make a direct influence on the prosperity of their business. Energy Saving Campaigns galvanise positive actions, making all feel inclusive in the long term prosperity of their business. 

GAIA offers a free Energy Saving Starter Pack for business keen to embrace energy savings. The FREE campaign pack provides the basic tools, steps and material to have your campaign up and running in minutes. Call us on 02476 236446 to request your free pack.

GAIA

Energy Efficiency & Conservation at Work – Utilise your greatest resource (Nov 08)

Posted in Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Hotels, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Manufacturers, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Offices | 1 Comment »

Energy efficiency is now the number one cost-cutting priority for UK businesses looking to combat the impact of a potential economic slowdown, according to new research released today by the Carbon Trust.

 But with UK industry still wasting almost £7 million a day on poor energy efficiency, the Carbon Trust and business groups are urging businesses to seize the potential savings on offer.

Of business leaders surveyed by the Carbon Trust, twice as many say reducing carbon emissions has risen up their agenda in the last six months than those who say it has fallen down (20% vs. 9%). And they now rank energy efficiency ahead of recruitment freezes, redundancies, freezing salaries or giving below inflation pay rises as a potential cost-saving measure.

New statistical analysis by the Carbon Trust also highlights the scale and urgency of the issue, with estimates showing that UK businesses could collectively save nearly £2.5 billion during the next 12 months, simply by implementing cost effective energy efficiency measures. And the savings are not just the preserve of large energy-intensive companies: the potential savings for SMEs alone are around £1.3 billion.

 The staggering £2.5 billion figure is equivalent to:

• 13 per cent of UK companies’ energy bills

• The combined annual salaries of more than 100,000 employees on an average wages.

 With almost seven in ten (69 per cent) company bosses surveyed either actively cutting costs or considering doing so, the Carbon Trust is urging them to get in touch to seek help in reducing their energy bills and their carbon emissions.

 Hugh Jones, Solutions Director at the Carbon Trust, said: “Our research shows that energy efficiency measures, not job cuts or salary freezes, are the cost-cutting steps businesses are considering first during this economically challenging time. It’s an encouraging sign that wise companies are realising that cutting carbon and being green is the easiest way to make a business lean.

 “Our new statistics provide stark evidence that if companies are starting to feel the bite from the economic downturn, the first place to look for cost savings should be their energy bill. There are literally millions of pounds going out of the window every day, across the UK.

 “We’re talking about money that could be saved by making quick and easy changes such as encouraging staff to turn off computers and lights, turning down the heating, or maintaining equipment properly.

Posted in Automated Monitoring & Targeting (aM&T), Energy Saving and Efficiency at School or College, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Hotels, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Manufacturers, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Offices, Forum - HAVE YOUR SAY!, Smart Metering and Monitoring | No Comments »

Over the last few weeks I have had the benefit of using arange of gizmos to help people manage energy better.  Some range from simple timer plugs to mini energy screens for the home educating me 24/7 on live energy usage.

The problem I see with these gizmo’s is they lack two key benefits:

1) I have to manage these devices to do something or ensure they continue to work. 

2) They don’t tell me when I need to do something. I have to work it out for myself.

These two missing elements are core to the benefits GAIA provides businesses. Companies cannot afford to fiddle around with equipment or spend time analysing data on consumption to spot irregularities. So GAIA tells you when you have a problem. You run your business we will monitor your energy.

GAIA
www.gaiaactive.com

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how-to-save-energy-gaia3

 Key points and myths about energy saving:

• Changing energy suppliers caps prices it does not save energy
• Businessess and organisations may be different in how they use energy, but the process to achieve savings is the same.
• Any business or organisation can save energy, energy expertise is not required.
• Energy saving does not require extentive resources and can be conducted by any staff member with the right infomation.
• Energy consumption constantly creeps upwards. Only by energy monitoring can organisations retain savings.

GAIA
www.gaiaactive.com

Posted in Automated Monitoring & Targeting (aM&T), Energy Saving and Efficiency at School or College, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Hotels, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Manufacturers, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Offices, FREE DOWNLOADS, Smart Metering and Monitoring | No Comments »

As I mentioned on the Victoria Derbyshire on Radio 5 Live show  – here are 5 Tops Tips to Save Energy that can be used by both homeowners and those working from home. 4 cost nothing to implement.

1) Make sure your fridge/freezer is full. 1/3 of most domestic consumption is created by your fridge. Make sure it is full, so it will retain cool better when opened.

2) Don’t waste time with gizmos to save energy, just use the off button on your PC monitor. Your monitor uses more energy than your hard drive.

3) To avoid using standby hide the remote. Most devices cannot be turned onto standby without the remote.

4) Give reads frequently to your supplier to help you understand you energy  and avoid any surprise bills.

5) Buy a slow cooker. Much cheaper to use then a conventional oven.

GAIA
www.gaiaactive.com

Posted in Energy Saving Tips, Energy Saving and Efficiency at School or College, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Hotels, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Manufacturers, Energy Saving and Efficiency at Work - Offices | No Comments »

fsb-presentation2

I was honoured to be asked to talk to the South Leicestershire branch of the FSB last night on Energy Saving in the Workplace. With ever increasing energy prices and a raft of new legislation to encourage business to be more energy aware, there’s no better time for companies to control their consumption closely. 

Energy monitoring is no longer a tool reserved for large multi nationals and or every £1 you save is a £1 back into your business.

Haydn

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