“UK businesses should be demanding more from their energy supplier, including support for their sustainability programmes,” says Ipswich-based electricity and services provider Haven Power.
In the first of three articles, the company explains what sustainability means and summarises two of the key benefits that it can bring to your business.
Haven Power supplies renewable electricity as standard to UK businesses of all sizes, across multiple industries. Its customers range from local organisations such as Suffolk FA to household names including Thames Water.
According to the supplier, “sustainability embraces environmental, social and economic aspects. And if a business is sustainable, it shows that it cares about the needs of future generations too. Businesses that align their purpose with a sustainable approach are even more likely to gain the additional advantage of differentiating themselves in the market.”
As part of Drax Group, Haven Power is striving to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future. It does so by helping businesses to explore their consumption patterns, energy needs and ambitions – and then by finding relevant, affordable and sustainable solutions. Such an approach can help customers to cut spending and achieve their environmental targets, to name just two benefits.
Reducing your costs
In 2013, London’s Clapham Junction railway station installed an intelligent lighting system that reduced energy usage by 35% on average. It adjusts the lighting to minimum levels when the station isn’t operational, or switches them off completely when the station’s closed.
The initiative aims to achieve total annual savings of £7–12 million over approximately six years, which means there may be an announcement on the results soon.
Haven Power itself saved 15% on its daily electricity bill within a month of switching its head office from conventional lighting to light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This saving helped fund the installation of 280 solar panels across almost 500 square metres of its south-facing roof. By making the building more energy efficient in these (and other) ways, the supplier targets a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of over 47,000 kilograms a year.
Achieving your environmental goals
Across all sectors, more businesses are using renewable energy to help promote their sustainability and ethical credentials. Haven Power customer Gatwick Airport puts sustainability at the heart of its operations – and has achieved carbon neutral status.
Rachel Thompson, sustainability lead at the airport, said that “Some of our early actions, including the purchase of renewable electricity from Haven Power since 2013, have been important to staying on track with our goals for 2020.”
And next…
Switching to renewable energy is an easy first step for businesses embarking on a sustainability journey. In the next article in this series, Haven Power will consider another of the main benefits – enhanced employee engagement – before concluding with a look at the future of sustainability.
If you’d like to transform your business by adopting a sustainability agenda, or even by switching to renewable electricity, get in touch at contact.us@havenpower.com or, for more information, go to www.havenpower.com