Manufacturers missing out on £11 million energy savings 08 December 2014

With just under a year until large UK organisations must comply with ESOS (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme) legislation, energy consultancy Utilitywise is warning that manufacturers may be missing out on more than £11,574,040 of savings.

Based on preparatory work with over 400 businesses, Utilitywise says the average firm that will be required to comply with the mandatory scheme could save 13% of its energy costs – but only if energy audit findings are used as a springboard for change.

"With only 12 months to be compliant, this legislation has suddenly become more real for companies specialising in manufacturing right across the UK," insists Utilitywise's Tim Hipperson.

"While the light touch nature of the legislation is welcome, thousands of companies may miss out if they only view ESOS a tick box exercise," he continues.

"Through our work with almost 20,000 clients we know that poor buying and management of utilities stops growth and damages businesses' bottom lines... ESOS compliance can act as a springboard for energy to be managed more effectively."

Utilitywise has launhed an 'ESOS Solutions Squad' comprising more than 25 experienced consultants, with the ability to act as ESOS lead assessor or help through being ISO50001 lead auditors.

"One of the key aspects of ESOS is that at least one or two board members must sign off on the compliance," states Hipperson.

"This is a crucial change to how energy might be prioritised by a senior management team. By seeing where the money is spent, and how this could be managed better, ESOS can help secure more senior buy-in for cost-saving changes from biomass planning to a simple lighting upgrade."

Companies with an annual turnover of £40 million and a balance sheet of more than £34 million must comply with the new ESOS rules.

The legislation requires those affected – which includes almost 2,000 firms in durable and non durable manufacturing – to be compliant.

They must undertake an ESOS audit (or obtain an alternative route to compliance), by 5 December next year (2015) or face fines of tens of thousands of pounds.

To be compliant, companies must audit all process, transport and energy use. This can be achieved either by commissioning an ESOS audit, or holding or gaining ISO 50001 certification, holding a Display Energy Certificate (DEC) accompanied by a recommendation report for each building, or having a Green Deal assessment for each building.

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Utilitywise plc

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