What can Net Zero deliver for your business?

clock • 1 min read

Aside from the drive to deliver a carbon neutral workplace environment, the benefits of net zero for businesses could be far reaching on a much wider scale, according to E.ON

The increasing focus on cutting carbon emissions on the path to net zero has been reinforced by successive lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic - and businesses are starting to think differently about decarbonisation in relation to their own business as a result.

Richard Spencer, head of technical services and operations for energy solutions at E.ON, notes that people seem to be more energised now. "There was a visible impact on air pollution during the Covid lockdowns," he says. "Now is a key time to make changes as businesses have gained valuable insight into different ways that they could operate."

Instant impact

For many businesses, there will be opportunities to make improvements that have an instant effect, says Spencer. "It's really important to gather good data," he explains. "A lot of companies leave their lights on when no-one is in the building, for example, or manufacturers leave production lines running even if they're not producing anything."

"That can be optimised quite quickly by changing people's behaviour, automating buildings and having alerts when machinery or devices are left on," he adds. "There is often a culture of taking energy for granted because it is not a business's biggest expense."

It may be that, with some older premises with poor insulation - e.g. single-skin metal sheds - the best thing to do is knock the building down and construct a new, more efficient facility. But equally, something as simple as replacing the windows with new, high thermal efficiency products can make a dramatic difference to energy consumption, while similar gains can be made just by ensuring your insulation is up to standard. These small changes can have an instant impact on business morale.

This article is sponsored by E.ON.

More on Energy

Ripple effect: How Ripple Energy sought to disrupt an 'achingly corporate' sector

Ripple effect: How Ripple Energy sought to disrupt an 'achingly corporate' sector

Ripple Energy CEO and founder Sarah Merrick tells BusinessGreen how creating an affordable clean energy ownership model has built an engaged digital community of clean energy pioneers

Stuart Stone
clock 29 March 2023 • 13 min read
North Sea Controversy: Does the UK really need new oil and gas projects for a secure transition to net zero?

North Sea Controversy: Does the UK really need new oil and gas projects for a secure transition to net zero?

A new report from Offshore Energies UK argues new oil and gas projects can bolster energy security and be made compatible with net zero goals - but green groups remain utterly unconvinced

clock 28 March 2023 • 12 min read
Credit: iStock

BloombergNEF: $21.4tr needed to deliver net zero global power systems

Major investment and policy intervention required to prepare grids worldwide for widespread electrification, analyst firm warns

BusinessGreen staff
clock 28 March 2023 • 4 min read