Today, more and more companies are being asked by their customers to provide an environmental policy. An environmental policy should be a summary of your business' environmental management system, including your targets and objectives in terms of reducing your environmental impact. If you want to know more about how to develop an environmental management system (EMS) click here.

A big part of an EMS is monitoring, measuring and improving your energy efficiency through the development of an energy management plan.

Easy first steps

The first step in becoming energy efficient and developing an energy management plan is to carry out an energy use survey. This allows you to determine where and why energy is being used within your business. The easiest way to do this is to draw up an inventory of all the energy-using processes noting the number, location, and operating times. Click here and download an energy spot check form to carry out your survey. At this stage it is important to talk to key members of staff, as they may have a better understanding of your energy needs on the shop floor.

The next step is to find out how much energy you use and what it's costing you. Check your gas, electricity and fuel oil bills. Click here and download a Checklist for your Energy Bills. You should also start a meter-monitoring scheme by checking your meter readings once a week and plotting the readings in a graph. This will help you build up a picture of your average energy needs. In the long term it will also indicate any seasonal variation or unexplained increases in energy use. 

Developing an action plan.

Once you've carried out an energy survey and established a meter monitoring scheme you are now ready to develop an action plan. An action plan prioritises your objectives and allocates time scales and resources necessary to achieve your energy efficiency goals. For tips on free or low cost measures to improve your energy efficiency click here.

Checking your system

Once you have begun to implement your actions, you can begin the checking process by monitoring your performance through the weekly meter-reading scheme. This lets you know whether you've reduced your weekly energy needs and shows how much money you may have saved. For more help in developing an energy management plan you may like to get some outside advice or training. If so, LESS can help you!