The new year is always a great opportunity to set new goals and with carbon reduction becoming higher on the agenda for organisations and their stakeholders, we have put together 5 areas that can get your carbon reduction plans off to a flying start in 2021.
Know where you are starting from
One of the first and most important steps to reduce your carbon output is to know where you are starting from, what you want to achieve and how you are going to get there.
It is much better to take a strategic approach rather than a piece meal one, identify changes that will have maximum impact for minimal cost and set targets on what you think you can achieve.
At LCE we work with our clients to benchmark and monitor their energy usage and identify the most cost-effective areas for improvement. We also work with organisations to publish Green Plans – Green Plans are comprehensive strategic documents that outline an organisation’s plans over a specific period of time, sets objectives and explains how these objectives will be achieved.
Make the most of technology
Embracing and utilising technology is one of the most important tools in being able to make large reductions in your carbon footprint.
Utilising technology does not have to be expensive, small changes can accumulate to make big differences and you can make changes that fit your budget.
Take lighting for example, you can simply swap standard lightbulbs for 90% more efficient LED bulbs, if you have a larger budget you can install an automatic lighting system or even better still you can install full building management systems.
Reduce Travel
Over the last 12 months we have all obviously reduced our travel in the extreme, and although we all hope to get out and about a little more in 2021 we have learned lessons that we can take with us into the future.
One of the benefits of the lockdowns and travel restrictions has been that we have been forced to adapt, by working remotely and thinking about whether we really need to make that physical journey to meet someone face to face rather than a conference call using Zoom for example.
Due to Coronavirus, Co2 emissions declined 2.4 billion tonnes in 2020, two and a half times the previous record with transport accounting for the largest share of the decrease. Car journeys roughly halved at the peak of the lockdowns.
Whilst we hope we will meet face to face again soon lockdown has shown how we can make significant energy savings by meeting digitally and working from home.
Invest in infrastructure
If you have big energy savings in your sights, then you may need to make big changes and an infrastructure project could be a good way of achieving this.
There may be a high upfront cost but with all projects, research, careful planning and implementation should enable a time when the savings repay the original investment and some.
At LCE we are experts in identifying worthwhile infrastructure projects and managing their delivery. We also help public sector organisations assess and make the most of government funding schemes like the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Bring your staff with you
Staff are the most important resource for any organisation, and you need to take them with you on the carbon reduction journey. Start from the top, communicate your objectives clearly and explain how you are going to achieve them.
It is important you have the right staff resources in your organisations to achieve your objectives, managing energy and reducing energy is multifaceted and requires expertise in lots of different subject areas.
At LCE we offer our clients training in various subjects and have a retained energy management service (REMS) where we can support organisations who either do not have an energy manager or require additional technical and energy management support for their existing team.
If you want to find out more about ways to reduce your carbon footprint or how LCE could help your business achieve their carbon goals please get in touch with us today by emailing michaela@lce-gkt.com or calling us on 01273 030154.
