Unlocking Early Benefits from Better Sustainability

In January, we laid out the ways that we can support clients to get their net zero efforts on track, as well as highlighting how making a start towards building a more sustainable, profitable and competitive business doesn’t have to be costly. For many that may be considering building a decarbonisation plan for the first time, or making efforts to improve existing sustainability efforts, there is another important aspect that they are likely already considering: what benefits will this deliver to my organisation, particularly in the short-term as UK businesses continue to face a challenging economic period. 

With that in mind, here are three substantial benefits delivered by even small improvements in energy efficiency and sustainability, that your organisation could unlock by getting started with real, measurable carbon reduction efforts with the help of Powerstar.

Cost Reduction

The average large business in the UK spends a little over £25,000 a year on electricity, plus an additional £7,300 on gas, based on a two-year fixed rate contract in 2024. Energy efficiency is one of the most reliable ways of reducing that cost, while also actively addressing the organisation’s carbon emissions by reducing Scope 2 emissions. Energy efficiency technologies such as voltage optimisation can typically offer a minimum reduction of around 8% in electricity consumption (although often higher depending on the nature of a site).

As well as lowering immediate costs, energy efficiency is also an important tool for reducing future exposure to volatile wholesale energy markets. The stresses that the energy transition places on the UK’s generation mix and national grid, including the movement from centralised fossil fuel generation to distributed renewable generation, further increases the risk of sudden price rises in the future, meaning that better energy efficiency offers long-term risk mitigation and better peace of mind.

Reducing Risk

Lowering exposure to unpredictable energy prices is an important part of risk management for any organisation, but is only one aspect where better sustainability and reduced risk overlaps. The rapid pace of the energy transition means that organisations will likely face many changes, presenting new challenges and opportunities alike. Having a good decarbonisation plan in place, and actively working to follow it, will often be key to unlocking potential benefits or avoiding future challenges.

For challenges, this could include future legislation. With the UK currently collectively lagging on net zero progress, it is likely that new legislative requirements around carbon reduction and electrification will be introduced. Your organisation will be much better positioned to meet these new requirements, and typically at lower cost, if you have already made improvements, rather than starting from scratch and struggling to keep up.

New opportunities including ways to reduce risk, mitigate the risk of disruption and equipment improvements are all possible, and having a plan in place, as well as the right infrastructure to adopt new technologies, such as electrification replacing costly and carbon-intensive fossil fuel consumption on site, is key.

New Customers and Partners

Whether you are a B2B or B2C business, your sustainability is an increasing important aspect of how customers perceive your organisation, unlocking new opportunities from customers that are increasingly aware of how a business tackles sustainability.

For customer-facing businesses, a survey by Deloitte found that 55% of consumers choose brands that have environmentally sustainable values and practices, with 32% prepared to pay more for goods from brands that are actively reducing their carbon footprint.

For B2B businesses, how the sustainability of your own organisation can impact on supply chain partners is becoming a crucial consideration, with large organisations actively working to reduce their own Scope 3 emissions more likely to choose to work with partners that are actively improving their own sustainability.

For either type of business, the act of putting together and actively following a comprehensive decarbonisation plan can open relationships with new potential partners and customers, while being able to actively demonstrate improvement over time only strengths your business compared to competitors when it comes to securing major supply chain partners.