Lowering energy consumption lowers your carbon footprint
Energy efficiency is the single most cost-effective way of reducing your organization’s carbon footprint. Once a company has reduced its consumption as far as is reasonably practicable, additional mitigation strategies can be applied to what remains.
When fossil fuels combust, they emit CO2 to the atmosphere directly at the point of consumption – often referred to as Scope 1 emissions.
When electricity is consumed there are no emissions at the point of consumption. The CO2 emissions associated with generating that electricity take place elsewhere – often referred to as Scope 2 emissions.
Whilst many countries are actively working to decarbonise their electricity generation and renewables are much more prominent in the generation mix, electricity production in most countries remains heavily dependent upon fossil fuels.
Reduced consumption of energy also equates directly to reduced cost – fewer kWh means lower costs. Energy efficiency is one of the most cost-effective ways of lowering energy expenditure.
Energy efficiency is seen by both governments and NGOs around the world as critical to hitting net zero targets and by extension, impacts every energy consuming entity on the planet. Whilst in some geographies assessing scope for energy efficiency improvements is a voluntary activity, in many parts of the world, it is seen as so integral to decarbonization, it is now mandated by legislation in medium and large organizations. Regardless of governmental requirements, improving energy efficiency should be the foundation for any company wishing to simultaneously lower carbon emissions, reduce bottom-line costs and further environmental, social, and corporate governance.
Whilst the journey to net-zero or absolute zero can include many stopping points along the route, by way of new technologies or carbon mitigation strategies, the first stop should always be improving energy efficiency. After all, once implemented efficiency measures continue to reduce energy expenditure and emissions in perpetuity – in essence, do it once and continue to reap the benefit year after year.
