Learn how to increase energy efficiency, conserve energy, and harness renewable energy for your business, with free access to our energy management plan.

1. Your Quick Guide to Energy Management for
Sustainability and Reduced Business Costs
process.st/energy-management
This article started with a cold cup of tea.
I was in the middle of a power cut, and the teabag floated despondently in a sad, mottled
brew. In the confusion, I’d allowed the beverage to cool for far too long. All of that precious
energy transferred to raise the temperature of the kettle to boiling point, gone to waste,
and there was nothing I could do about it.
This is an example of poor energy management on my part.
As I sulked over the absence of my morning brew, it did get me thinking, would society
ever face these kinds of energy management problems, like I easily had?
“Welcome to the energy crisis” – Lawrence J. Becker, Welcome to the Energy Crisis
Some of you may have already experienced, say, aggravating waits in lines for gasoline, or
your pocketbooks taking a punch from inflation. But, energy problems – like a cold cup of
tea – are not only personal, they permeate into society and our economy.
80% of U.S. energy comes from fossil fuels. According to BP’s Statistical Review of World
Energy, we have 115 years of coal and roughly 50 years of oil and natural gas remaining. To
compound this, we also need to leave ~80% of current fossil fuel reserves untouched if we
stand a chance of meeting IPCC 1.5°C (34.7°F) warming targets.
1/12

2. Energy management is the process of tracking and optimizing energy consumption for your
business. It’s a continuous process, easily implemented by following the correct procedure.
In this Process Street article, you’ll learn about best practices for energy management, how
you can successfully manage energy in your business (and beyond), as well as how to adopt
best energy management practices using a handy free checklist to help you save time and
money.
Don’t cry over cold tea. Learn how to manage energy properly, for a healthier business and
a healthier planet. Click on the relevant subheader below, or continue reading as you
please:
Let’s not waste any more time, and get right into the basics of energy management.
What is energy management?
Energy management is a framework combining management and technology to develop a
proactive and integrated plan with the intention to better an organization’s energy
performance. By energy performance, I mean reducing energy demands, energy wastage,
and the need for finite energy sources for sustainable, continuous power.
By taking control of an organization’s energy use, to lower dependence on finite fossil fuels,
energy management is a key component of carbon management. Similarly, carbon
management is a key aspect of an organization’s overall environmental management
system. All three are vitally important management processes for businesses today, each
helping organizations navigate the pressures of our energy crisis, but this article focuses on
energy management.
Energy management is a broad discipline, enveloping 3 separate concepts, namely:
Energy efficiency : Less energy is used to perform the same function. That is,
the output is the same, but the energy input is less. For instance, the use of light-
emitting diodes (LED) requires 75% less energy than traditional incandescent light
bulbs, but the output (light) remains the same.
Energy conservation : The behavior that causes less energy to be used. The aim
is to sustain energy-levels in a system. For instance, turning the lights off when
leaving the room. According to the Department of Energy leaving an incandescent
light bulb on for 8 hours could use an extra 120 kWh in a year, costing ~$13 more.
This is per bulb, if you have say 100 bulbs in a building, you can see how costs and
energy use mounts up if not conserved.
2/12

3. ☀️ Renewable energy: The energy that occurs naturally and repeatably in the
environment, and therefore encourages the cyclic exchange of energy between nature
and society. This includes energy from waves, the sun, or wind. Unlike fossil fuels,
renewable energy will not run out.
Keep reading as we explore the above separate concepts of energy management, giving you
easy tips and tricks on how to improve on each. Each concept works to target our energy
problem from the root, for healthier businesses and a healthier planet.
How to improve energy efficiency with energy management
As already mentioned, energy efficiency is doing more (or the same) using less energy.
The best way to maximize energy efficiency in your team or organization is by:
1. Reducing wasted energy
2. Adopting green tech solutions ​
Why improving energy efficiency is important
Improving energy efficiency is not an easy problem to solve; it requires innovative thinking
and leveraging of advanced technology. Despite the potential barriers and bottlenecks,
energy efficiency savings implemented at scale have the potential to yield gross energy
savings worth more than $1.2 trillion for the U.S. economy, reducing energy demand by
23%.
Such reductions to energy demand are a by-product of improved energy efficiency, and
such approaches work to mitigate the potential of a compounding, global energy crisis.
3/12

4. This has very real business implications. For example, a packaging company in this study
invested $12,900 to make energy efficiency improvements. In the first year, the
organization saved $38,700, with a payback of 3 months.
Due to the connectedness of energy management with carbon management – energy
efficiency being a part of energy management – energy-efficient improvements also help
organizations meet government C02 regulations.
How to make energy efficiency improvements in business
Reducing energy wasted is a good starting point for maximizing energy efficiency. Conduct
physical site inspections in unification with proactive Metering, Monitoring, and Targeting
(MM&T).
“To measure is to know. If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it” – Lord Kelvin
(William Thomson)
The Carbon Trust revealed savings between 5-15% can be obtained via significantly
reducing energy wasted using an effective MM&T system.
Impressive, but to be completely honest with you, this statistic didn’t surprise me.
You see, my housemates and I recently purchased a Geo Minim Energy Monitor. A smart
meter that allows us to track our energy consumption (in £, C02 of kWh), actual power,
C02 emissions, and room temperature. In essence, our Geo Minim Energy Monitor was
our small-scale MM&T system. We could see times of day where we were using excessive
amounts of energy and when/where our energy was wasted. We made investments to
improve energy efficiency in our home, such as replacing the window seals to reduce draft.
By tightening our control on energy consumption we pocketed monetary savings while also
feeling good knowing we were taking an extra step for our planet.
Obviously, in an organizational setting applying the MM&T system for energy waste
reduction is more complicated than our Minim delight, due to multiple energy inputs and
outputs.
Below is a generic technology model. As you can see, the core of an MM&T system will be a
software package – this could be a simple spreadsheet. The data input can come from a
variety of sources, but a fixed meter (like our Geo Minim Energy Monitor) is the most
common. An effective MM&T balances the practicality and cost of metering with the
control and/or savings it may help deliver.
4/12

5. Input Output
Meters Server & software Shop floor
Data loggers Office staff
Building
energy
management
system
Finance
Electronic
data
interchange
System operators, energy
manager(s), energy
champions, maintenance
Senior management
Manual entry
Identifying actions to be taken, the
individuals who will perform the actions,
the right time to act, and the way to act.
When analyzing energy usage it is important to look out for:
1. Abnormal consumption
2. Seasonal changes in consumption
3. Anomalous results
By measuring your energy usage, you can start to identify when and where energy is being
wasted. From this, you can invest and apply new green tech solutions for a smarter and
more efficient flow of energy through your business. For instance:
Consider swapping to LED lighting.
Activate energy-saving features on all devices.
Switch to a green web host.
Utilize more on cloud solutions to remove the paperwork.
Purchase ENERGY STAR equipment and machines – this includes efficient
computers, monitors, scanners, etc. These devices automatically power down when
they are not used for extended periods.
Use loT devices and sensors to control lighting.
Look to retrofit heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings
e.g. adding insulation, add temperature sensors and look to integrate HVAC control
with other aspects of the building.
Incorporate renewable energy technology (discussed further on in this article, so
keep reading).
Manage office space, to reduce energy use per total square foot, e.g. by hot-desking
and using shared office spaces.
5/12

6. Recycle in facilities to maximize heating and cooling. For example, recycle water
used to cool computer servers as a hot water source.
Recycle everything – plastics, cans, electronics. Use marked recycling bins.
Reduce travel footprint – provide employees with electric vehicle charging points and
offer bike storage and showering.
Educate your team about green initiatives and how to be more energy efficient in
their day-to-day.
Continuously keep track of your energy use, using a Metering, Monitoring, and
Targeting system.
Improving energy efficiency in practice – Albertson’s Inc example
The California-based grocery store, Albertson Inc, was leading the way before the majority
of companies jumped on the energy efficiency bandwagon. Off to a grand start, in 2006 the
company announced savings of 1 billion kW in energy by reducing wasted energy and
applying green tech solutions.
Technological upgrades included more efficient walk-in food coolers, variable-speed
HVAC, and LED lighting throughout stores worldwide.
5,000 separate upgrade projects were completed. Using effective energy management
procedures, Albertson’s Inc took full reigns in improving the company’s energy efficiency.
How to conserve energy with energy management
Energy conservation describes actions and behaviors that ensure energy is continuously
available in a system. In essence, it is about changing behavior to use less energy altering
the output.
For instance, I limit the amount of time I turn on the heating in my home to save energy.
Energy is conserved at the expense of the output – my house is a little bit colder.
Another example would be when I head out for a long-distance run. To conserve my
energy, I pace myself, cutting back on speed meaning I have enough energy to complete the
run. Compare this to running efficiently, which requires good running technique (whereas
the efficiency of my technique is dubious ​♀️).
Why conserving energy is important
6/12

7. By conserving energy, less energy is used, and therefore energy conservation – like energy
efficiency improvements – serves to:
Give monetary reward
Help organizations meet C02 regulations
Reduce energy demand to mitigate our global energy crisis
Coming back to this final point – reduces energy demand to mitigate our global energy
crisis – conserving energy inspires a societal paradigm shift in terms of how we view and
use energy.
For instance, if you think about the term more is more – a catchphrase from a consumerist
society with unimaginable plenty – where do you propose this dictum came from? Is it
credited mainly to the post-modern architect Robert Venturis? Or fashion designer
Gianfranco Ferre? Or the queen of blitz Dolly Parton?
Today, energy is demanded on a whim. Cold? – Turn up the dial. Hungry? – Grab
something from the fridge. Want an adventure? – Jump in a car, or on a plane.
The metabolism of society seems to be out-of-sync with what our planet can support. We
are starving our planet of finite energy resources, sapping up reserves like hyenas to a
carcass.
More-is-more, more-is-better, more-is-success – it is this societal conviction that feeds our
energy-crisis monster.
But what if less was more?
Energy conservation looks at changing behavior in a system to demand less energy,
meaning less-is-more. A behavioral change and a shift in societal value addresses, and
mitigates our energy crisis from the core. As such, energy conservation is vital for
successful energy management, whether we are thinking on a global scale or at an
organizational scale.
How to make energy conservation improvements in business
Simple ways you can conserve energy in the workplace include:
1. Promote workplace sustainability: Help employees understand how they could
benefit from adopting a sustainable approach. Provide your team with educational
resources (like our Green Guide for a Lower Environmental Footprint Checklist,
given below) and have them set targets to change their behavior and reduce the
energy demands of your workforce as a whole. Look to apply a change management
model to manage this organizational change.
7/12

8. 2. Turn off devices: This includes lights, computers, and heating when not in use.
3. Take advantage of natural daylight: Turn off or dim electric lighting when
adequate sunlight is available.
4. Change and clear air filters regulary: Help reduce maintenance costs for air
conditioning units.
5. Consider efficiency of electronic tools: For motor tools, install variable speed
drives (VSDs).
6. Consider office energy management: In winter, set the office thermostat
between 65-68°F during the day and 60-65 during unoccupied hours. In the summer
months, the thermostat should be adjusted between 78-80°F during the day and
above 80 during unoccupied hours.
7. Designate a responsible party: This helps to promote good energy practices for
the organization and/or facility.
Energy conservation focuses on changing individualistic behavior. In an organizational
setting, to conserve energy means to take responsibility for educating and promoting
positive, sustainable behaviors in your team.
To help you do this, Process Street has created a Green Guides checklist. By following this
checklist, your employees can access the environmental footprint for their energy use. They
can track their activities, and set habits to better their sustainability performance. The aim
is to reduce your team’s energy consumption to lower than 8 tonnes, in line with 2050
goals.
Click here to access our Green Guide for a Lower Environmental Footprint Checklist!
Energy conservation in practice – ALS Environmental example
Before Process Street, I worked for the environmental testing laboratory ALS
Environmental. The laboratory consistently looked for ways to reduce energy demand and
conserve energy.
Communication in terms of making energy efficiency improvements and conserving energy
was celebrated. For instance, the implementation of a SMART thermostat controlled the
office room’s temperature. But, employees were allowed to adjust the temperature if they
were feeling uncomfortable – i.e. during a particularly cold spell.
The winter of 2018 saw snow-blizzards and negative temperatures. Yet, rather than switch
up the dial, because employees were taught the importance of energy conservation, we all
decided to wear extra clothing to keep warm instead. Granted, this did result in me typing
8/12

9. in a pair of gloves, but I knew conserving energy was important and I was happy to play my
part.
A renewable framework for energy management
Renewable energy sources include solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass
energy.
Renewable energy sources are finite. They lie in fine-tuning with the Earth’s natural energy
cycles. In comparison, fossil fuels short-circuit an otherwise natural rhythm. To extract, we
tap into carbon stores that would otherwise take millions of years to expel as atmospheric
CO2 via volcanic activity.
Powering our economies in this way has caused significant rises in greenhouse gases
Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide. And the projected consequences aren’t
looking good.
Source
Why renewable energy is important
Energy management via improving energy efficiency and conserving energy gives the
technological and behavioral advancements needed to move into an alternative, greener
future, supporting businesses, and our economy. These 2 concepts help mitigate our global
energy crisis. Moving on, where does renewable energy come to play?
Building on this latter point, let’s think about the state of the U.S. today in terms of its
primary energy consumption by energy source. In 2019, 37% of the economy was powered
by petroleum, 32% by natural gas, and 11% by coal. These are all finite fossil fuel reserves,
and it is this demand distribution that has put us in our current energy-mess.
Once more, by exacerbating climate change, fossil fuel use poses a substantial economic
threat, with the impacts of climate change projected to cost the U.S. economy ~$23 trillion
under the current trajectory of warming and extreme weather events.
In summary, renewable energy lends us an arm, to pull us from a torrent caused by
malicious fossil fuel extraction. Fossil fuels are not a sustainable source of energy. The
economic benefits they bring are short-term and a facade, as the damaging impacts of their
use linger on the horizon.
On a smaller scale though, what are the direct benefits of renewable energy?
9/12

10. I have listed the top 4 ways businesses benefit from renewable energy use below:
1. Cost savings: According to a new report by the International Renewable Energy
Agency, unsubsidized renewable energy is now most frequently the cheapest source
of energy generation. Once more, with the advancement of technology these costs will
fall. in comparison, as fossil fuels become more scarce, energy from fossil fuel
extraction is set to rise.
2. Risk management and resilience: By producing renewable power, your reliance
on the Grid diminishes. This means you are less susceptible to market fluctuations in
Grid prices.
3. Corporate social responsibility and positive public relations: In 2018,
Unilever announced that its most sustainable brands grew 46% faster and delivered
70% of its turnover growth. This comes with reports that indicate 2/3‘s of consumers
prefer sustainable brands.
4. Improved employee engagement: Research from Harvard Business Review
showed that companies with a strong culture of purpose can transform and innovate
better while improving customer satisfaction. Investment in renewables gives such a
purpose. A separate report by Brian and Company states that sustainable programs –
such as investments into renewable energy – boost employee morale and keep
companies an attractive place to work.
How to invest in renewable energy alternatives
You can directly use renewable energy sources by installing renewable energy technology
for your business. However, not all organizations have the cash-flow to make this initial
investment. Luckily there are less direct and cheaper ways organizations can install
renewable energy for their business.
For one, you can switch to a green energy supplier such as Good Energy, Suzlon, and REG.
Second, you can buy shares in companies producing renewable energy power. However, as
most renewable energy companies are not listed in the stock market, looking into
investment trusts and investing in a portfolio of renewable energy shares is your best bet.
Some popular renewable energy trusts include Aquila European Renewables Income Fund
PLC; US Solar Fund; Foresight Solar Fund Limited and Greencoat UK Wind. Spend time to
have a look around for an investment trust that’s right for you.
Renewable energy in practice – Carlsberg Group
10/12

11. The drinks manufacturer Carlsberg has a goal to source 100% renewable electricity at its
breweries by 2022. In 2018, 29 breweries in Western Europe used 100% renewable energy
for the first time.
One initiative used 8,000 solar panels at a site in China, which met up to 20% of the
Brewery’s energy needs. By investing in renewable energy, Carlsburg is creating a self-
sustaining organization, one that is protected from and separated from the impacts of our
energy crisis.
Quarterly Energy Management Plan Template
An energy management plan is a broad-reaching document that serves as a long-term
planning resource, to guide an organization towards securing a cost-effective and a
sustainable energy future.
Run our Quarterly Energy Management Plan Template to continuously access your energy
consumption: To reduce carbon emissions, to improve energy efficiency, to conserve
energy, and to invest appropriately into renewables.
This checklist has been produced using the Carbon Trust’s Energy Management
comprehensive guide.
By following this checklist, you can apply effective advice given by experts, to help your
business or line of work take action and reduce energy demand and carbon emissions.
Click here to access our Quarterly Energy Management Plan Template!
Let’s move into a sustainable future, for our businesses and our
planet, with effective energy management
Our energy crisis, paralleled by our environmental crisis, places a stranglehold on societal
and economic development. Without adaptation, innovation, and change, we are in for a
bumpy ride.
However, despair doesn’t inspire resolution. Energy management acts as a solution for a
smooth transition into a more sustainable economy, and mitigates the impacts of energy-
shortages and climate change. Once more, direct monetary benefits are given to help
organizations thrive today.
Time is of the essence. Adapt to survive. Take control of your energy demands.
11/12

12. 12/12