Energy Management
Why do we need energy management?
Energy costs are rising and there is no reason to believe that they will decrease in the future. This is driven by factors such as:
- Increasing use of taxation and other financial instruments.
- Increasing supply and distribution shortages.
- Decreasing security of supply.
- Increasing importance of environmental issues and the public perception of these.
- Increasing importance of corporate social responsibility.
For many plastics processing sites, energy costs are approaching the cost of direct labour and energy costs are almost always higher than the actual profits of the site. Experience shows that for typical sites, where little action has been taken in the past, over 30% of the energy use is ‘discretionary’ - this means that the cost is incurred because the site management has either decided to take no action or because it has not recognised the opportunities for improvement. In most cases, energy use and costs can be reduced by over 30% and these savings add directly to the site profits.
Where are the savings?
Energy costs can be reduced by:
- Management actions that typically cost less than £1,000
- Capital investment actions that typically cost more than £1,000
What are the returns?
The returns from energy management actions are quick, certain and need only internal effort. The payback for almost all management and maintenance actions is 6-9 months and for almost all capital investment actions is less than 4 years.
The returns from energy management are much better than the returns from increasing sales.
What do we need to start?
Implementing energy management requires an energy management system and this must cover:
- The company energy policy.
- Performance assessment.
- Targets for short and long-term performance.
- Reporting - Systems must show results to get resources.
- Auditing.
- A Climate Change Agreement could help you acheive these goals. Click here for more information
Useful Resources
Energy Management for Plastics Processors Book
"Sustainability Management in Plastics Processing" by Dr Robin Kent is intended to provide practical guidance to plastics processors, providing them with the knowledge and tools to improve their overall sustainability by showing how improvements can be made in key areas. Buy here
Online course: Energy Management for Plastics Processors
The "Energy Management for Plastics Processors" online course covers essential guidance on energy management for all plastic processors, with selectable modules focused on different manufacturing techniques. More Information
Climate Change Agreement
What Is The CCA? A Climate Change Agreement (CCA) is a voluntary agreement containing targets to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Participants of the scheme benefit from Climate Change Levy (CCL) exemption, currently up to 92% for electricity and 89% for natural gas and other fuels. More Information.
Contact Energy Management and Procurement Consultant
LG Energy Group (LGE) offers expert advice and management across the energy spectrum. Core principles of transparency, accountability, and integrity are more than just a tag line, they run through everything that LGE does.
Due to the significant volatility in the wholesale energy markets, LGE believe that an effective energy procurement strategy is pivotal in managing risk and achieving budget certainty for our clients and their businesses. LGE operates a number of robust strategies to deliver this certainty, depending on what your business needs are.
Whether you are looking for a fixed contract or a more flexible purchasing strategy, LGE can help deliver market leading solutions that match your business needs. Having a deep understanding of the markets helps LGE to deliver quantifiable savings to our clients.
