Are businesses taking energy management seriously enough?

Tuesday 31st January 2012

Survey results announced by Siemens this week have thrown up some interesting figures. The research asked 600 UK businesses about their views on energy management and it has revealed an apparent gulf between Boards and those directly responsible for energy management in the organisation.

While 83% of board members agreed their organisations are serious about energy management, 31% of managers directly responsible for energy said that the issue is not being taken seriously. The results also revealed that a quarter of board directors do not know how much their energy bill is each month.

As the MD of Siemens Industry Sector in the UK and Ireland pointed out, energy management needs to be high on agenda for businesses, commenting: “not only is the UK subject to strict legislative carbon reduction targets, but many businesses are neglecting the impact that effective energy management can have on the bottom line.

Indeed, an E.ON survey last year showed that small businesses in the UK could be losing up to £7.7 billion a year due to a failure to install energy efficiency measures.

The Government’s Green Deal has been put in place to help energy consumers understand and reduce their energy usage, through initiatives like the smart meter roll-out, which will see around 53 million smart meters installed in UK businesses and homes.

But the results of the Siemen’s indicate that more needs to be done to motivate businesses – and particularly senior management – to take energy management efforts seriously. The Government has set some ambitious carbon reduction targets; it’s time for them to engage with businesses to maximise the UK’s energy efficiency drive.

< Back to Blog