Energy
Many hands can make lighter work when meeting energy targets
Many of us are now becoming more energy efficient when it comes to running our domestic life. We have adopted some essential ideas to try to keep our bills down, such as loft insulation, and we are choosing to buy more efficient products, from washing machines to cars. But how do we transfer similar good practice into the work environment? Greg Markham, Technical Director at facilities management provider EMCOR Group UK, says that the key to an organisation achieving its energy goals is building a proactive energy culture. Greg looks at EMCOR UK’s collaboration with one of its customers, the Department of Health, as a prime example--- together they achieved savings in excess of £100,000 in one year of the contract as a result of reducing energy use and improving sustainability.
Concurrent with recent reports from the government and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) suggesting that the UK is emerging from prolonged recession, both the private and public sectors remain under pressure to find substantial energy savings. This is because, apart from the economic necessity to do this, there is also the need to satisfy an increasing burden of environmental legislation. It is, therefore, unlikely that the tough savings targets that have been set are going to get any easier in the future.
The Carbon Trust, in its report “Building the future today”, made the observation that 70% of energy reductions can be achieved through the application of comparatively simple facilities services management. These include straightforward heating, cooling and lighting measures. The challenge is to ensure that the energy reductions are maximised. Success or failure can often depend largely on the motivation of staff members to implement them.
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To begin building an energy centric employee culture, it is essential to have senior-level support. Visible leadership from the top of any organisation not only sets priorities in terms of targets, but also sets the tone for the overall culture and values. This key foundation can then be built upon by engaging both management and staff in the rationale for having target driven energy efficiency measures and to get their buy-in from the outset to putting them into practice. This is particularly true if a given measure requires employees to take personal responsibility for acting differently than before.
In Practice EMCOR has worked with the Department of Health (DH) since 2001, and provides total facilities management to over 25 sites, including Richmond House on Whitehall. As part of the government’s Greening Government Commitments, the DH has been tasked to reduce its use of energy by 25% across its estate by 2015. The approach that EMCOR and the DH took offers some insights as to how an energy saving culture can be achieved right across an organisation.
by working collaboratively to formulate a joint strategic plan aimed at driving significant efficiencies from the estate, and incorporating changes to facilitate transition to the new health and social care system. The biggest gains in energy reduction normally stem from using property more smartly, so a key component of the plan was to review the use and occupancy of the various buildings in the DH’s property portfolio. This resulted in the transition of significant numbers of staff into fewer buildings and optimising the space in these facilities. Such changes to the working environment need the support of building users, so EMCOR supported the employee consultation
The DH and EMCOR UK set about addressing this challenge
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