|
|
|
|
Find the best suppliers and service providers in this region
|
|
|
|
Home > News
Details
News Details
Posted on:
22-01-10
|
On Carbon Neutral Ground
Consumers today have gained environmental awareness and expect businesses to play their part in reducing the global carbon footprint. As a result, there is greater pressure for organisations across all sectors to adopt more ecofriendly measures, and the hotel industry – as one of the largest consumers of electricity – has come under the spotlight. Like any change, this poses challenges. However, this transition will not only benefit the environment, it also presents opportunities to improve processes and cut costs. The greener way is also more efficient and more economical, and in the current economic environment, any factor enhancing performance can be crucial to the bottom line.
Luc Gaubert, MD of Schneider Electric , a global leader in electrical distribution, industrial control, and automation, says: “Businesses in experience the conjunction of several phenomena: the surge in energy costs of fossil fuels and more recently electricity, increased regulatory pressure to fulfil the Kyoto Protocol commitments, and a more challenging economic situation. Therefore, energy saving is definitely a very immediate solution to improve performance through financial saving, and large and medium-sized Irish businesses have indeed raised the topic of energy saving towards the top of their agenda. Some of them have already strongly invested in the field, taking a significant competitive edge.”
With a harsher economic climate, uncertainties about the marketplace prevail today. What is interesting to note is that, in these circumstances, many businesses have embraced the concept of greener energy, simply because it makes sense from a logistical point of view. As has been apparent in recent months, in times of price fluctuations, companies need to maximise what they can get from the resources they invest into in order to survive the economic storm. In this context, energy saving has taken centre stage, as it constitutes an efficient way to save costs. “Energy efficiency measures are most often self financing: case studies of some of our customers show that up to 30% energy saving can be achieved, and that a return on investment shorter than six months is frequent for equipments such as variable speed drives or power factor correction systems,” says Gaubert. Because of the intricate technicalities involved in energy saving systems, implementing an effective system requires several steps.
Assessing the needs and opportunities for improvement is the first task. Eirdata founder and general manager Liam McLaughlin advises to “carry out a basic energy audit to find out where your energy is really being used and how it is being used. This will invariably identify opportunities for energy use reduction.” Eirdata is the strategic advisor to Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) in the development of international energy management standards. “We can’t improve what is not measured,” agrees Gaubert, “therefore, the very first step towards energy saving is to measure energy use in a very detailed manner, in order to identify potential savings, but also the dysfunctions in all installations. “Once this fundamental step has been taken, the quick wins can be implemented through the installation of passive energy saving equipment and systems, such as power factor correction equipment, voltage reduction products, variable speed drives, efficient lighting, etc. Further on, long-term use can be improved through automation and control solutions. However, Gaubert warns: “All these measures are efficient if and only if they are accompanied by a strong change management and employee awareness programme, and sustained through constant supervision and monitoring.” A company’s internal energy and environmental policy can only be implemented from the top down and through thoughtful human resource management, as it requires joint efforts to implement a real change. McLaughlin says, “Energy saving within business is not a difficult task, but requires commitment from top level to allocate the required resources, both time and money.”
Running a hotel or venue, as people in the industry well know, involves high energy consumption – and heavy electricity bills. Now hotel managers are realising that introducing practices and standards that are sustainable for the environment not only reduces costs, but is also ethical. Not only can significant cost savings be made and processes performed, but a venue that endorses carbon neutrality enhances its public image and strengthens its brand. “Businesses are beginning to realise that consumers are basing their decisions not only on cost competitiveness, but also on the green credentials of the organisation that they engage with and are hence reacting with energy efficiency drives to reduce their associated carbon footprint,” says Dr Elmer Morrissey, energy consultant at RPS, a leading provider of services for the development and management of natural resources, property and engineering assets, and the environment. In comparison to other countries, shows a poor record when it comes to environmental sustainability. In the 2008 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), ranks on a par with at the 35th position on a list of 149 countries, and still performs poorly in European standards. has committed under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 13% above 1990 levels by 2008-2012.
In 2003, however, greenhouse gas emissions amounted to 25% above 1990 levels, mostly as a result of increased electricity production and the transport sector. The poor environmental standards stem from the country’s relatively late environmental awareness. But there are signs that the gaps that persist are now being addressed. Luc Gaubert says: “It is important to highlight the fact that the Irish Government has put in place very important and efficient measures to tackle climate change in recent years, the creation of Sustainable Energy being one of the most influential ones. Climate change was kept at the forefront of public considerations in the 2008 Finance Act, through the creation of the accelerated capital allowance in favour of energy efficient products and systems.” To counterbalance the high investment costs associated with renewable energy sources, the Finance Act 2008 outlines a number of measures supporting the reduction of carbon emissions. One of these measures is precisely the accelerated capital allowance which Luc Gaubert refers to. Despite these welcome developments, however, there are still gaps that need to be addressed. Morrissey of RPS says: “There has been a commitment by Government in recent years to aid the adoption of renewable technologies. However, it seems to just lend support to mature and proven technologies like solar panels and biomass boilers. The next generation of renewable energy sources offers potentially far greater security of energy supply and hence their adoption should be promoted in a more strategic manner.”
As the recent turmoil in oil prices has highlighted in recent months, it is becoming crucial to develop alternative sources of energy that don’t need to be sources elsewhere. ’s weakness, however, is that it remains highly dependent on imported fossil fuels and, located at the furthest point of Europe, it is at the end of the gas pipeline, and therefore is vulnerable to political instability. The only way to secure a sustainable energy supply in the future is to decrease this reliance on external providers and develop autonomous energy sources. Morrissey says: “Firstly, we must minimise the energy which we consume by implementing practical, proactive energy management philosophies across the commercial and domestic sectors and, secondly, we must reduce our reliance on imported energy by increasing our renewable energy generation stock,” he says. “If we achieve these goals, we will be less at risk to large fluctuations in the global energy market and businesses will be able to once again plan for future energy spends without worrying about massive increases affecting cost competitiveness in the future,” Morrissey concludes.
|
|