Energy efficiency is gaining popularity for a reason. As is well established, using less energy is good for the planet, as it helps people and businesses reduce their carbon footprint. But the reality is that energy efficiency helps businesses with two types of green: the “green” efforts of sustainability as well as the financial “green” of helping your business’s bottom line.
Businesses of all sizes can benefit from improving the energy efficiency of their offices, store locations, warehouses, kitchens, or other properties. Efficiency is something to strive for across all aspects of a business, and any business owner should have a priority to reduce waste: wasted time, wasted resources, and wasted money.
Energy consumption is no exception, and especially in 2023, making energy usage more efficient can help you get ahead of your competition. Here’s how:
This one may be the most obvious benefit to some, but it’s worth emphasizing. Simply put, when your business uses less energy, less capital is used on energy costs. This helps your bottom line and can even free up funds that you can invest in other aspects of your business. Depending on your industry, energy can make up a significant portion of your business costs, and reducing consumption can make a big difference. If you run a large, multi-location business such as a franchise, improving efficiency practices across your company can add up to huge savings.
Energy efficiency is not about simply cutting down: your business does not need to sacrifice customer comfort, operations, employee wellbeing, or building aesthetics just to get the energy numbers down. Instead, another way to think about energy efficiency is as energy productivity. With improved, modern equipment (such as high efficiency heating and cooling systems, LED lighting, or refrigeration) you can have more productive tools doing the same amount of work with less energy required to get the job done.
Approximately one-third of the energy used by buildings is wasted, costing $150 billion annually, according to recent estimates. But great strides have been made in recent years when it comes to energy efficient equipment, and upgrading to these better models can save a business thousands and thousands of dollars over time.
In recent years, energy prices have steadily gone up, and they’ve also become more volatile. That means the cost of energy has become less predictable, with high levels of fluctuation. For business owners that means it has become harder to budget around energy spend, creating increased financial risk. Though costs have recently become more stable, the reality is that energy costs are always a risk of doing business as unexpected events can suddenly impact pricing.
Reducing reliance on energy means reducing the real risk that soaring energy prices will negatively impact your business.
It is no secret that nowadays customers are by and large concerned for the planet, and individuals know that they have the power to help through the businesses they frequent. Study after study shows that customers are more excited to give their money to a business that they feel is doing something positive for the environment, especially when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions.
In one study, 23% of adults said they’d be willing to pay more for the goods and services of a business that is working to reduce its carbon footprint. Another study showed that 45% of shoppers would be prepared to stop buying their favorite brands if they refused to commit to measuring their product carbon footprint.
Compared to other sustainability efforts, energy efficiency efforts can provide, real concrete data that enables powerful green storytelling. For example: “Our efforts have reduced emissions equivalent to take 1,000 cars off the road for a year.”
Customer loyalty is a key way to edge out competition, and assuring your customers that you are committed to reducing your negative environmental impact is a surefire way to achieve this.
The success of any business relies on its employees, and especially in competitive industries, attracting and retaining talent is critical. One of the best ways a company can do this is to demonstrate its sustainability.
A recent international survey from IBM found that 67% of employees are more willing to apply for jobs they perceive as sustainable—and 68% more willing to accept positions from such companies. Reducing the carbon footprint of your business through energy efficiency provides tangible evidence of sustainability. This can be used to prove to potential employees that you are not merely greenwashing but are taking real action. Doing so increases the likelihood that great employees will be excited to join your team.
Energy efficiency for businesses is critical. In 2023, it is not merely nice to have, but it is essential. Enacting efficiency measures can propel your business ahead, and not doing so can put you at the risk of falling behind your competitors.
One of the main reasons a business might forego improving efficiency is that there are typically upfront costs required to buy, install, and manage equipment upgrades. However, there is luckily a solution to this problem: Budderfly.
At Budderfly, we help businesses reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint by providing all the capital and doing all the legwork to install premium energy efficient equipment at all your locations. Plus, we provide patented, energy-saving technology to optimize and measure reduction, and to monitor equipment for any potential issues. Ours is an incredibly unique business model that creates a win-win for businesses and the environment.
We’re already helping over 5,000 business locations across all 50 states reduce their energy consumption with no upfront costs. Contact us today to learn how we can get you started on your energy efficiency journey.