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Save money, look good: why you should manage energy We manage employees, we manage customer relationships, we manage supply chains. I’ve met folks with titles like manager of innovation and manager of community engagement. And, of course, there are endless managers of projects, products and services. Underpinning all these, however, is a critical input that many companies leave largely unmanaged: energy. Accustomed as we are to plentiful energy and rates for electricity that vie for the cheapest on the continent (folks in New England, for example, pay more than double what we pay), we have taken energy for granted. At best, we’ve undertaken modest conservation programs as a nod to being good citizens. This is changing. At the recent Power Smart Forum hosted by BC Hydro, the CEO of Sinclar, a large B.C. forest products company, told the group that his senior team had identified energy to be a major strategic consideration. With the assumption that energy prices have nowhere to go but up, Greg Stewart said the cost of energy presents both a risk and an opportunity to his operations. A risk because of transportation and per-unit production costs. An opportunity because generating power using the company’s forest residuals becomes economic at a certain point. Either way, Stewart’s group realized that placing a sharp focus on energy would be smart move. They hired an energy manager.
As more companies think hard about a shifting future and the uncertainties related to peak oil, climate change and carbon taxation, they, too, are noticing that energy is an undermanaged area of their operations. The era of managing energy has arrived. If your organization has significant property to manage (heating, lights, building systems) or uses energy as a production input, you should have an energy manager. This individual makes sure all equipment is adjusted and maintained for most efficient operations, looks for improvements such as insulation and automated controls that reduce energy being consumed and may lead behaviour-change programs to ensure employees are doing simple things such as switching off lights and computers at night. (These can save 10% on your electricity bill.) An energy manager also audits operations to know where the next round of investment in efficiency will best pay off and advises on equipment purchases from an energy-cost standpoint. Basically, he or she ensures a consistent focus on, and accountability for, this neglected area of operations. Depending on the size of your company, a full-time position can easily pay for itself. Vancouver Wharves, a commodity terminal in North Vancouver, is saving $105,000 a year since retrofitting the lighting in two warehouses. A property management company that is the subject of a BC Hydro case study cut $30,000 off just one strata council’s annual electricity bill of $130,000 – a permanent reduction of nearly 25% – by switching the light bulbs throughout the parkade. A medium-sized manufacturer in the Fraser Valley is saving $17,000 a year after upgrading its old air compressors with a new variable-speed (more efficient) model. It’ll pay for itself in four years and contribute to the bottom line long after that. If you’re not thinking strategically about what you pay for energy, or managing to find ways to save on that bill, you’re missing a great opportunity. You’re also reducing your ability to compete with other companies that are. It’s never been easier to get started, either – look at BC Hydro’s website and search for “energy manager” for some good background material. Check out the “Product Incentive Program” and the Power Smart industry and commercial pages, too – BC Hydro has all sorts of programs that pay companies to make energy-saving retrofits. (The manufacturer above, for example, got a grant that brought its actual payoff time for the new air compressor down to just one year.) If you fit its program, Hydro will even pay part of your energy manager’s salary for a couple years. You get more than just bottom-line benefits out of this. Getting very smart about how we use and manage energy is a critical aspect of shifting to a sustainable society – one that can reliably and resiliently meet its needs and those of future generations as well. The less we need to rely on purchasing power from outside B.C., the less likely we are to be using “dirty” power – produced from fossil fuels and contributing to climate change. And the more energy-secure the province is. So you can message your energy-efficiency programs to staff a few ways – helping save money and helping all our kids’ futures at the same time. Goodwill and good payoff, too. • Nina Winham (
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
) is principal of New Climate Strategies, helping clients build value through sustainability and communications strategy. She writes regularly on sustainability topics. www.newclimate.ca.
This article from Business in Vancouver November 24-30, 2009; issue 1048 |
