U.S. small businesses collectively spend a staggering $60 billion on energy each year, according to EPA’s ENERGY STAR program. Energy costs are among the top three business expenses for more than a third of small businesses.

1. How Energy Efficiency Can Benefit Your Business

Saving energy can seem like an impossible task but on a brighter note, small businesses possess enormous energy savings potential. Depending on the type of business and its operations, small businesses could reduce their energy costs by up to 30%.

Although it doesn’t happen overnight, focusing on energy-efficiency is always worth the effort.

Reduced costs

This one is pretty straight forward: if your business uses less energy, your utility bill will be lower. Although there will be costs involved when purchasing energy efficiency devices or making an upgrade, reduced energy consumption will mean more money will be saved over the long run. Technically, energy-efficient effort pay off themselves and allow you to invest this money into developing your business.

Protection from increasing costs

Electricity prices rise from year to year and this trend is expected to continue. The best way to reduce the impact of these increases on your business is to make your business more energy-efficient.

Stronger brand operation

The financial benefits of energy-efficiency is merely scratching the surface. Consumers are becoming more aware with each passing day so becoming greener can enhance your brand operation and bring in new consumers as well as result in increased customer loyalty. You only need to be careful not to start greenwashing and walk your talk. Let your actions speak for themselves as today’s consumers will know how to appreciate them.

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Enhanced working conditions

Energy efficiency is essential in creating optimum working conditions for your workforce which will also help you attract talent.

It’s good for the planet

Being green is doing the right thing. With the climate change emergency, being more energy efficient is becoming a pre-requisite for businesses. With regulations becoming more stringent and even more coming into play as we get closer to 2050, it will also pay off to stay ahead and ensure compliance to avoid hefty fees.

2. Top Business Energy Efficiency Tips  

You can reduce your business’ energy costs up to a third through getting the cheapest electric company with the most affordable rate, energy-efficient upgrades and simple behavioral adjustments in their energy usage. The best part is that none of these will sacrifice your comfort, if anything, they can even increase your comfort.

Consider letting sunshine in

Investing in solar panels will not only protect your business against rising costs and regulatory changes, it could also make you eligible for tax deductions and credits.

Get your employees involved

Energy efficiency is a team sport. Besides learning your employees about energy-efficient practices, you should encourage them to share their own innovative ideas and find new ways to save energy together. The whole idea is to create a new company culture together.

Connect to other businesses

Whether we like it or not, when it comes to energy efficiency, we’re all in the same boat. Learn from your competitors and connect with your community. It’s much better to learn from someone else’s challenges as no matter how things look like on the outside, every business is facing its own set of challenges. Sharing is caring and the least you can do is share how you overcame your energy-efficiency challenges, what is there to lose? It’s not like you are giving away your know-how that is securing your revenue. Together, you will find the best energy-efficient solutions more easily. If anything, you will increase your negotiating position with energy providers as you are more powerful when you stick together.

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Takeaway

Business energy efficiency takes time to be achieved, but there are so many benefits in store for a company that takes it seriously. Using less energy will do much more than reduce your operational costs, it will boost and protect your revenue and profitability.