Energy Efficiency

• Savings on energy tariffs from researching the market and switching to cheaper suppliers has saved £5,984 p.a. on electricity and £3,218 p.a. on gas.
• An environmental review indicated that energy use is higher than industry standard benchmarks. Actions that have been taken or are planned to address this include:
• A troublesome boiler has been replaced and a regular maintenance contract has been established. The new boiler has a modern time clock was fitted to enable better control of operating hours.
• Insulation has been installed on the hot water cylinders in 2 buildings.
• Installation of double-glazed windows is planned for 2 of the buildings and secondary glazing in the third much older building is being investigated
• An education plan for clients to save electricity and heat is planned; this will need to be based on simple facts to dispel any odd myths, such as not turning computers off because ‘stopping and starting them too often wears out the components.’
• Ways Investigate ways of controlling solar gain during the summer months, as an alternative to full-scale air conditioning.

• Reductions in energy use help to cut costs and associated CO₂ emissions, a major contributor towards climate change. The new boiler and controls has reduced gas consumption by 33%. This represents a cost saving of £706 p.a. and a reduction in CO2 emissions of 7.1 tonnes.

Waste Minimisation

• Recycling of services are offered to clients for paper, CD-roms and printer cartridges and many clients use this even though this is an additional costs to general waste disposal.
• Old computers and other hardware were collected and sent to ‘Techknowledgy’, who sent the revamped computers to Africa. They no longer take BMC’s computers, but an alternative service is being researched.
• Free advertising is provided for clients to sell on or recycle unwanted desks and equipment.
• A review of usage of general waste bins revealed that collections could be cut from 5 to 3 collections per week saving £733 p.a.
• Switching from paper based to an electronic billing system for client’s phone bills has cut paper use by 600 sheets of A4 paper per month, saving £108 per year plus extending the life of the printer.
• Use is made of electronic communications for all kinds of notes and memoranda, the in-house monthly magazine, Christmas cards and advertising (via company web-site). An Intranet has been developed so that staff and clients can have instant access to information and our databases saving even more on paper, photocopying, filing space, and staff time. It is estimated that this saves around £10,000 p.a. compared with using paper based media.

Sustainable Transport

• Many clients and staff travel to work on foot or by bicycle. BMC lobbied their local Council to put up more cycle racks nearby.

Water Efficiency

• Installed two passive infrared (PIR) controls on urinals that previously flushed every 20 minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• BMC is currently deciding which toilet cisterns can have their flush volume reduced.

• Meter readings taken before and after installing the PIR controls show a drop in overall water use of 60%. This will save over £737 per year. The PIR controls, cost £1,060 and so will pay for themselves within 17 months. As they are also used to control lighting they will save a further estimated £274 on electricity.
• ‘Save-a-flush’ cistern volume displacement devices can be obtained free of charge from Southern Water and save one litre per flush.

Green Procurement

• Water-based paints and varnishes are being used more and more for maintenance. This is mostly indoors, as outdoors it is still important to have the weather resistance of oil-based coatings.

• Water based paints contain no toxic vapours, have minimal odour, are quick drying, and do not need solvents for cleaning brushes. There is probably a small saving made, as decorating jobs can be completed more quickly using water-based materials. A major benefit is in furthering Health & Safety compliance.

Summary of Cost Savings