How to score a win-win for profit and planet in 2023

Tackling the triple challenge of energy cost control, carbon reduction and operational resilience is more urgent than ever before in 2023.

Energy market volatility and cost inflation continue to threaten all businesses, who must also reduce their carbon footprint and improve energy security.

But the savviest organisations recognise that profit and planet are two sides of the same coin. These sustainable energy leaders are acting now to drive a pathway towards net zero – for long-term success.

3 ways organisations are succeeding in profit and planet

In this blog, we explore the three ways in which forward-thinking organisations are responding to mounting pressures. We look at how you can also future-proof your energy strategy to gain economic, environmental and operational advantage in 2023.

1. Winning on cost reduction

Energy efficiency is the most economical starting point for any cost and carbon reduction strategy. Many of our business customers have already utilised the quick-win energy saving opportunities. They are now using advanced data analytics to go much further.

Data is king

Sustainability leaders are making use of advanced Internet of Things (IoT) energy insights technologies. This gives 360-degree visibility of their energy consumption, including what’s happening at an equipment and process level of scrutiny. In this way, there’s an intense focus on eliminating energy and operational waste to reduce bills and emissions.

Low cost solar and CHP

In 2023 organisations will also drive financial savings by deploying onsite generation, such as high efficiency Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and Commercial Solar Photovoltaic (PV) technologies. 

With the cost of grid-supplied electricity and gas at an all-time high, both CHP and solar are delivering faster payback than ever before. In many cases, customers installing CHP are seeing a return on investment within 2 years and cost savings of up to 40%.

Cost saving in action

• We’re partnering with many NHS Trusts and other public sector organisations to help fund and deliver complex integrated energy efficiency projects, which incorporate high efficiency CHP. Among them, London St George's Hospital is reducing energy costs by £1m per year and Whiston Hospital is cutting its yearly energy spend by £500k.
• Our hydrogen-ready trigeneration CHP installation will yield savings of around £700k per year and improve carbon output for a global leader in life sciences and pharmaceuticals. This high efficiency Combined Cooling Heat and Power (CCHP) project will protect the South Wales site from ongoing energy market fluctuations and price rises throughout 2023 and beyond.
• We used our energy insights technologies to underpin a high impact energy efficiency upgrade at Dublin's Marino College. This is delivering carbon savings of 50% and improved comfort levels, while simplifying annual energy reporting.
• Textile manufacturer Pincroft is using energy insights technology to maximise efficiency. The company have combined our Panoramic Power wireless sensors and PowerRadar™ analytics software, to have the deep intelligence required to optimise energy and operational performance across its entire site. This achieved a payback on investment in just 3 months – cutting weekend energy spend by 94% and weekday energy spend by 29%. Annual CO₂ savings of 648 tonnes are forecast.
• Plastcoat, a division of Magna International, is using our energy insights analytics to save nearly £1.7 million on its annual energy bill, while also improving predictive maintenance, operational efficiency and productivity. Our CHP trigeneration partnership with the Magna PT division is reducing energy costs and saving 14,000 tonnes of CO₂.

2. Leading the way on decarbonisation

Sustainable business leaders recognise the strong link between profit and planet. They realise that delaying action on decarbonisation will cost much more in the longer term.

We’re helping our customers to develop a culture of sustainability. We empower their teams with the tools and data to succeed and take affordable, incremental steps along their tailored net zero pathway.  

Future-proofing

This stepped approach – matched with innovative technologies and integrated energy efficiency solutions – is helping customers get ahead of environmental regulation and higher carbon taxation. We set them up for future success.

Carbon saving in action

• As part of a £4.7 million energy upgrade at Hereford County Hospital, we're installing more than 300 rooftop solar panels. Together with a new ground source heat pump network and other efficiency improvements, we're helping Wye Valley NHS Trust take a further big step towards net zero.  
• Our installation of 1,820 solar panels at Affinity Water's Chertsey production plant is producing 12% of the site's energy needs and supporting the company's carbon net zero plan. Within six months, this reduced energy costs by nearly £145,000 and saved 160 tonnes of CO₂.
• We're installing 4,248 solar panels at the British Army's Defence School of Transport,  which is the first of four pilot projects. Across all four sites, annual savings of £1 million and 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent are predicted.
• A new floating solar PV technological solution is enabling our greenhouse customer Kwekerij de Noordhoek to monetise the surface area of their freshwater basin by reducing energy costs, selling solar-generated green electricity to the grid and accessing other demand-side revenues.
• Global aquaculture company BioMar is ready to deliver on its net zero 2050 ambitions, as well as its 2030 interim goal. Our net zero consultancy team have helped shape a high integrity, cost effective decarbonisation pathway that's aligned to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
• We're helping our longstanding partner Vodafone to deliver on their green procurement strategy, with a 10-year solar PPA. This secures the development of 3 new solar farms – supplying 110MW of additional renewable power.
• Altex Group is using our IoT energy insights solution to cut energy costs by 8%, while reducing CO₂ emissions by 53,553 tons. Our wireless sensors capture the energy consumption data of refrigeration equipment, air compressors, cooling towers, evaporators and other critical assets.

3. Securing operational resilience

Energy resilience is increasingly viewed as a top-level business threat. However, there are steps you can take to de-risk energy supply interruption and build a more sustainable operation.

The most advanced, sustainable businesses are those best able to manage energy security and mitigate risk.

Mitigating risk

These organisations are maximising the competitive advantage of big data to digitalise and automate their businesses. They’re using device-level monitoring to mitigate the risk of energy outages. This is a highly effective measure – one of the most common causes of energy-related failure is ageing and poorly maintained equipment. Using IoT-enabled sensors and reporting tools to identify problems before they happen is a cost-effective and easy method of increasing energy reliability.

Onsite generation technologies (such as Solar or CHP) in combination with battery storage, are also providing protection against both supply interruption and costly operational failure.

Resilience building in action

• As part of a 15-year energy performance contract with Dublin's Tallaght University Hospital, we've replaced ageing heating and lighting infrastructure with energy efficient systems. This is helping to improve resilience and is delivering a 26% reduction in CO₂ emissions.
• Together with our partners GE we're converting a former gas-fired power station into a 50MW battery storage plant. This will store renewable power from North Lincolnshire's local wind farms – maximising the use of green energy and providing vital Grid resilience.
• Our Centrica Energy Assets team has partnered with Push Energy to roll out grid-scale solar energy projects across the UK. This is part of our net zero plan to deliver a 900MW portfolio of solar and battery storage by 2026. It will also help the government to create a fossil fuel-free power grid by 2035.  
• A brownfield site that started life as a coal-fired power station is now one of Europe's largest battery energy storage facilities. Our Roosecote project is providing the flexible power needed to balance the National Grid and support the growth of renewable energy.
• Through intelligent asset optimisation, we’re supporting a global data centre provider to succeed in planet and profit. By installing generator panels and communication units, reliable and secure off-grid operation has been provided whenever the centre required emergency back-up power. By managing the generators in the Capacity Market and in Triad and DUoS avoidance operations, we’ve helped the company unlock a new revenue stream and reduce non-commodity costs.

It’s more than possible to score a win-win for profit and planet in 2023. Contact us to find out more about how you can tackle the challenge of carbon reduction and cost control.