Why Should Businesses in Colorado Care About Energy Efficiency?Businesses have many things to worry about - producing valued goods and services, satisfying customers, competing in an increasingly global marketplace, maintaining employee morale, and generating a profit, to name a few. On top of this, for most businesses the cost of energy is a relatively small fraction of the total cost of doing business. So why should a business pay attention to its energy use and potential to reduce energy use by increasing energy efficiency? The main answer is that it makes good business sense. Virtually every business is using more energy than it needs to for its operations - for running assembly lines, fueling industrial processes, heating, cooling, and lighting. Many businesses use 20-50% more energy than they need to, as shown in the case studies in this Guide. Cutting this energy waste by investing in more efficient equipment is one of the most cost-effective investments a business can make - the rate of return on this investment is often 30% or greater. In short, investing in energy efficiency will increase a business's profits. Conversely, continuing to operate with high levels of energy waste and excessive energy costs will reduce profits and put a business at a disadvantage when compared to more energy-efficient competitors. Increasing energy efficiency provides other benefits besides energy cost savings. Energy-efficient lighting, heating, and air conditioning often improve worker comfort and productivity as well as save energy. Industrial process improvements can cut material use, improve product quality, or increase output, as well as save energy. These non-energy benefits in some cases are worth more than the energy bill savings, raising the return on investment to 50% or more. Last but not least, energy efficiency improvements provide benefits to society as well as to the firm making them. Increasing energy efficiency means less fuel is consumed either on-site or by power plants, thereby reducing pollutant emissions and water consumption. Increasing efficiency also lowers energy demand growth, meaning less risk of power outages, less need for costly and controversial new power plants and transmission lines, and less depletion of finite energy resources. Put simply, energy-efficient businesses are better corporate citizens than those that waste large amounts of energy. Every business, big or small, should have a strategy for identifying and making cost-effective energy efficiency improvements. This guide is meant to help businesses in Colorado recognize what they can do to increase their energy efficiency and where they can go for help. |
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