How an Energy Management System can help your organisation

Organisations are facing many challenges in the current climate and one of these challenges is rising energy costs. Businesses are becoming more aware of environmental impact and the urgent need to have an energy reduction strategy, not only to reduce their carbon footprint but also to save money.

The total energy consumption of the world is expected to increase by 48% before 2040. However, the UK Government have a target to cut emissions by 78% by 2035, to meet Global Goals, see Overcoming the World’s Challenges – The Global Goals. So it is imperative for individual organisations to reach energy saving goals. The building and construction sector should be particularly mindful of their carbon footprint as they attribute almost 40% of carbon emissions. One method to improve your energy usage is through implementing an Energy Management System (EMS).

The aim of an Energy Management System (EMS)

The aim of implementing an Energy Management System is to make the use of energy as efficient as possible and could save energy costs significantly. Energy systems could save up to £10 billion a year by 2050 according to the UK Government. These systems are not only applicable to large organisations that have huge factory facilities, but also an increasing number of small and medium-sized organisations are recognising the benefits of an EMS too. Benefits include finding waste, monitoring, controlling and conserving energy to reduce costs, lowering carbon emissions and increasing employee wellbeing.

An energy management software or system is most often cloud-based and collects and analyses energy consumption and expenditure to support budget monitoring and bill predictions. The systems can track periods of time and produce reports to be analysed for energy performance.  From this a strategy is developed to manage energy in different departments and adjust accordingly.

An energy management system involves four main steps

1. Collection of energy data at short and regular intervals (the more data the better)
2. Analysis of energy data captured, including energy that is being wasted
3. Identify opportunities to save energy and act
4. Keep track of changes to measure success, provide evidence of meeting targets

Benefits of an Energy Management System

Energy Management is not just about turning down the heating or turning off the lights when you leave a room. Energy management takes account of procurement, distribution of energy and environmental and economic objectives.

Implementing energy management can save transportation costs, help to choose the right means of transport, profitable routes, load optimising, fuel efficient vehicles and options for clean fuels. This can all help reduce costs and combat environmental damage.

Manufacturing machinery has huge potential for energy improvement, reduction in costs, better productivity, and a safer working environment.

Energy management systems will help to analyse if

• Old machinery needs to be replaced with more energy-efficient machines
• Planning and production of maintenance activities
• Energy storage solutions
• Utilising energy-efficient technologies e.g. Infrared technology in a food processing company may save up to 78% of its electricity costs.

An Energy Management System (EMS) can help an organisation to improve energy performance by continuously monitoring their water, electricity, and gas consumption, to streamline their processes, improve their profitability and to reduce their environmental impact. An Energy Management system can save 20-30% of total energy costs over 12 months.

What specific benefits will an EMS provide my company?

• EMS can be utilised in the areas of procurement, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) , production, and information systems.
• Return on investment
• An EMS provides a systematic approach to identifying and minimising energy usage over time.
• The EMS monitors all C02 emissions, which provides tracing over time to reduce carbon impact meeting CSR requirements and Environmental and Social Responsibility (ESR)
• Anticipate energy needs of a business to control spend
• Reduces operational costs
• Highlights smart buying decisions
• Complies with regulations and new standards such as ISO 50001 certification and Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)  
• Lowers carbon footprint which enhances reputation and brand image, studies show that 81% of people prefer to buy from sustainable sources)
• Business growth – companies who invest in eco-innovation see annual growth of 15% more compared to their competitors
• Engages employees as they have a more comfortable working environment, improving staff satisfaction and increased rates of productivity.

Sentinel Safety Solutions can help you improve your environmental impact, sustainability, and energy efficiencies with an Environmental Management System, For more information, please feel free to visit our Environmental Management Systems page on our website Environmental Management System | Worcestershire (sentinelsafety.co.uk or call us on 01527 833834 and we will be happy to assist.