Build your business on a strategic energy plan
May 26th, 2010
In just about every industry, owners and managers have only one truly controllable cost—labor. To some extent, however, you have control over your operating expenses—especially if you recycle and reuse; you also can train your associate to “pre-cycle,” insisting they analyze their needs before they begin their projects and then purchase only what they need. Most importantly, you have considerably more control over your energy costs than you may imagine. Restructuring your business according to a comprehensive, strategic energy plan can add 30% or more to your bottom line. Work with your local utility to develop a plan for radically reducing how much you pay each month.
· Aggressive conservation— Ask a representative from your electric company to conduct an energy audit. Your energy auditor will walk your office with you, looking for energy saving opportunities; she may also itemize your electric bill, showing you where you spend the most for electric power, and suggesting ways to conserve.
In most offices, heating and cooling cost the most, followed closely by your large office machinery, your computers, and your lighting. If you have not already taken these measures, take them right away:
(1)Adjust your thermostat so that your heating and cooling system maintains the office at 72 degrees during the day and shuts-down completely at night. Better still, adjust the air conditioning to 74, making it a little warmer but still comfortable; adjust the heat to 70—everyone can add sweaters as needed. If your office has functional windows, use them; your energy auditor will help you arrange a schedule to capitalize on fresh air as an alternative to air conditioning.
(2) Turn-off your overhead fluorescent lighting and equip each workspace with a low-energy CFL desk lamp, insisting that your associates turn-off the lights when they take their breaks, go to lunch, and leave at the workday’s end.
(3)set your computers to go to sleep when they are not in use, and ask your associates to turn them off as they turn off their desk lamps.
(4)Make sure that your doors and frames are properly weather-stripped; and, if you have old fashioned windows that actually open and shut, make sure they have fresh weather-stripping, too. If you have exposed tile floors, lay down thick padding and then carpet them. The floor needs a layer of insulation, too.
· Natural light— Morale improves and you save money when you rely on natural light. Your energy auditor or an interior designer may show you alternative arrangements for your workstations, so that you may make the most of the natural light you have available. Give serious consideration to installing “three-dimensional skylights”—elevated well above the roof line, they have glass on the sides as well as the top, allowing for maximum sunlight from dawn until dusk. Ideally, you will install one large skylight over every major work area. Natural lighting is a great way of saving energy as well as maintaining great aesthetics for the workplace.
· Indoor landscaping— Plants act as natural insulation, and they purify your air. In other words, well-placed natural landscaping helps you control your heating and cooling costs, because it regulates the air’s natural circulation by maintaining a constant temperature throughout your open spaces. If some of your windows create hotspots in the office, put that sunlight to good use, letting it shine on a row of small trees or large containerized plants. Fertilize your indoor landscaping with the grounds from the coffee machine, and work with your office landscaping service to start composting food waste with the debris from routine maintenance of the grounds.
· Efficiency— Your printer, copier, and fax machine suck-up almost as much energy as your heating and air conditioning. Try to eliminate the fax machine altogether; regard your fax as a fossil relic from the 1990s. Save paper and electricity by printing only essential documents. In most settings, you can manage more than 90% of your documents electronically. Moreover, you know that your associates are comfortable and proficient with text messages; take advantage of that post-modern expertise. Similarly, manage projects to control printing, so that you may shut down the copier for extended periods—at least part of every business day, always over night, and often for days at a time.
