Lighting the way to a brighter future

Energy efficiency as a modern business goal

In South Africa, electricity is a scarce resource and keeping the lights on is an increasingly difficult task - both literally and figuratively! Unscheduled power outages and rolling blackouts like those implemented during loadshedding can be the nail in the coffin for many businesses, especially small and medium enterprises that are already struggling to stay afloat. With unreliability from South Africa’s power utility Eskom, rising pressures to mitigate climate change, skyrocketing energy prices and a more competitive business environment, bigger companies who can afford to make the shift have been left with little choice but to invest in renewable, sustainable, efficient and independent energy technologies that do not rely on the national power grid.

For smaller businesses though, this is not always possible, despite the obvious benefits like reduced running costs, lowers carbon emissions, and increased customer loyalty to brands that show a level of environmental awareness. Energy efficiency is a modern business goal, and should be treated as such by companies that want to sustain and grow operations.

Cutting Costs

Many business owners shy away from installing new energy-effiecient systems due to the large upfront investment needed. Despite this, experts say that energy efficiency should not start and end with installing expensive technologies - small changes can make a big difference. One example is to send out a memo or remind employees during a weekly meeting to switch off the office lights when they leave or turn off computers when they’re not in use. This can be the first step towards changing attitudes and fostering an office culture of energy efficiency and sustainability.

Energy efficiency can also help businesses save money and cut running costs. In the US, it was found that high-performing buildings, or buildings that deliver a higher level of energy efficiency, save $0.60 per square foot on operations and maintenance expenses per year, and $0.53 per square foot on utility expenses annually.

Saving the planet

South Africa is the fourteenth largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally, and South African businesses must incorporate energy efficiency into their operational goals in order to promote sustainability and protect the planet for future generations. Studies have found that widespread use of efficient appliances, electronics, equipment, and lighting, along with better insulation and other weatherisation practices, could cut around 550 million metric tons of carbon pollution a year by 2050.

Conserving energy also helps protect the enviornment and its natural resources from being unnecessarily pillaged. Cutting back on energy helps conserve limited natural resources that would otherwise be used to power the power plants, while a lower demand for energy also results in a lower demand for fossil fuels.

By becoming more energy efficient, businesses can help mitigate the damage that mining for fossil fuels does to ecosystems, fauna and flora, and its impact on climate patterns and depletion of natural resources.

Corporate values for brand reputation

Another great benefit that being energy-efficient can bring to businesses is through increased brand reputation and consumer loyalty. Climate change and environmental issues are a hot topic of conversation globally, and consumers are increasingly expecting the companies they interact with to act as custodians of the planet and conduct their operations in more sustainable and ecofriendly manner.

A recent study by Unilever found that a third of consumers choose their brands based on their social and environmental impact. “More than one in five (21 percent) of the people surveyed said they would actively choose brands if they made their sustainability credentials clearer on their packaging and in their marketing,” the study found.

Energy efficiency is clearly a potent avenue for businesess to save money, impact positively on the environment and increase their social impact in the communities they work with, all while fostering brand loyalty and growing their reputation as a business that cares. The question is no longer when, but rather how businesses will implement energy efficiency as a vital business goal.