Energy Efficiency: The Cheapest Tonne of Carbon

When companies plan their decarbonisation, attention often jumps straight to renewable power or offsets. But the cheapest, fastest reductions usually come from a less glamorous place: using less energy in the first place.

Why efficiency comes first

Every unit of energy you avoid is one you never have to generate, buy, or clean up. Efficiency reduces your emissions and your costs at the same time, often with short payback periods. It also shrinks the size of every other solution that follows.

Where to look

The biggest opportunities are usually hiding in plain sight:

• Heating and cooling, often the largest single load in a building.
• Lighting, where LEDs and controls pay back quickly.
• Equipment and processes left running when they do not need to be.
• Compressed air, motors and pumps in industrial settings.

Start with the data

You cannot improve what you do not measure. Sub-metering and a simple energy audit reveal where energy actually goes, which is often a surprise. From there, you can rank actions by cost and impact.

Efficiency is not the exciting part of a net-zero plan, but it is usually the most profitable.

Then electrify and clean up

Once you have cut waste, the remaining demand is smaller and cheaper to electrify and supply with clean power. Efficiency first makes everything after it easier.

Want to find the quick wins in your operations? Get in touch or estimate your footprint with our calculator.