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ENERGY SECTOR VIEW
By Ged Henderson
ON A POWER DRIVE
Soaring energy prices are giving Lancashire businesses added impetus on their journeys to a net zero future.
Faced with eye-watering hikes in energy costs in some cases, it is little wonder companies are taking stock and seriously examining where they can make savings.
Professor Karl Williams is professor of resources, energy and environment at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).
He says there is a growing sense of urgency from companies to get things done. He says: “Businesses are accelerating their route to look at how they can be more self-reliant on their own energy and to start to electrify their vehicle fleet. The main driver now is the cost of energy.”
Karl is involved in overseeing the MaCaW Project, which was set up to help county-based SMEs move to a low carbon model.
The university is also part of the Eco-I North West project, which aims to support SMEs as they undertake low-carbon business innovations.
MaCaW is free to Lancashire businesses and exists to help them to reduce their carbon footprint, save money on energy costs and provide grant funding to purchase low carbon technology.
Eco-I, a collaboration of universities from across the region, including Lancaster University as
well as UCLan, looks to save an estimated 3,850 tonnes of carbon emissions and enable businesses to capitalise from the region’s extensive knowledge base and cutting-edge research facilities and skills.
The first stage to reaching net zero for business is understanding the impact of their carbon footprint. Karl describes it as “a must for every company.”
However, recent figures suggest there is still work to be done here, even with the added urgency imposed by the energy crisis.
Karl points to a survey by YouGov for Lloyds Bank showing 77 per cent of UK SMEs either do not have or are unsure of their strategies to decrease their carbon emissions.
And around half of those questioned in the survey said that they did not know what the term ‘net zero’ meant.
Karl says: “I understand it with small companies. They don’t really have the expertise within the business. If the owner or chief executive has a passion for it, the company will move forward, if not it will just carry on.”
Businesses that have a strategy need to improve it every year. Karl says: “One of the biggest challenges for SMEs is having that long term goal and strategy.
Professor Karl Williams
“Companies may have a champion who runs with it, but if they leave the business, unless there is a system or strategy in place, it just gets lost. It is something that needs to be embraced by the whole workforce.”
And he adds: “Just getting a few electric cars and putting in a charge point is not a strategy; it is a sticking plaster.”
Earlier this year Nelson based composite steel reinforced pipe-maker AquaSpira put the finishing touches to a solar panel installation. It was a £200,000 investment and the latest step in a carbon saving plan that began with a carbon audit by the MaCaW team.
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