What you need to know
Performing an energy audit of your
business is the first step. This is often
performed for free or at a minimal cost
through your utility provider. In this
audit, you’ll learn what areas of your
business are using the most energy.
You’ll then be able to work on a strategy
to reduce waste.
By visiting the ENERGY STAR Web site
at www.energystar.gov, you can compare your company’s energy use to similarly sized companies within your industry and region.
After your energy audit, you’ll need to
strategize a plan of action and goals, and
then formally deliver the message to
employees.
“Set goals based on local rates
acquired through your utility provider,”
Falony says. “Rewarding employees
when individual goals are accomplished
is important, because it provides an
incentive for them to be cautious of
energy use.”
Assigning an employee to manage
energy initiatives and communicate
them to the staff will help keep everyone
involved and informed about the
process. You may want to take things a
step further and provide training to
employees that can explain operating
methods and procedures to reduce energy use, along with ways to monitor and
report collected data. ENERGY STAR
provides free online training sessions for
employees and is a good place to start.
“Employee training is probably easiest
through a third source,” Fox says. “By
contacting ENERGY STAR, you can get
free statistics detailing operating costs
of companies similar to yours and also
downloadable information that takes you through energy-efficiency changes
step by step.”
When establishing a project timeline,
consider attainable energy grants,
rebates and tax breaks weighed against
necessary operational changes to
accomplish goals. Once you know what
you need to change to be more efficient
and what finances you have available,
you’ll be able to better chart progress
and predict the time frame for the return
on your investment.
“While new technologies represent
great potential, most of them will not yet
support themselves without incentives,”
Crowther says. “Make sure you are making financially intelligent as well as environmentally smart choices.”
