12 Nov 2014
Energy efficiency advice for retail businesses
Saving energy is one of the simplest ways to increase profits. In retail businesses, energy costs may only be a small percentage of turnover but reducing them can directly increase margins without the need to increase sales.
In addition to economic benefits, there are of course, social and environmental advantages to reducing energy consumption, such as cutting carbon emissions, mitigating climate change and improving air quality to name a few. Customers are increasingly aware of these issues and many are choosing retailers who are taking positive steps for the environment.
See below for three areas to focus on for reducing energy in your sector.
Lighting: on average, 25% of an organisation's electricity costs come from lighting. Find out how you can cut these costs by up to a third while reducing your carbon footprint and improving the working environment for your staff.
Refrigeration: for some companies, refrigeration can be as much as 50% of their energy bill. Find out how you can make your system more efficient with advice on simple energy saving measures, upgrading and replacing equipment.
Energy management: get buy-in for energy saving across all levels of the company, from appointing an energy manager and monitoring energy use, to developing an action plan and training staff.
Published April 2018
This 25-page overview for retailers introduces the main energy saving opportunities for businesses within the sector and demonstrates how simple actions save energy, cut costs and increase profit margins.
Saving energy is one of the simplest ways to increase profits. In retail businesses, energy costs may only be a small percentage of turnover but reducing them can directly increase margins without the need to increase sales.
Guide contents:
Publication date: April 2018; Publication code: CTV053 v2
Information in this guide was correct at the time of publication
The Carbon Trust Green Business Fund offers energy efficiency support and energy assessments for small and medium-sized businesses in England, Scotland and Wales.
If you'd like to improve energy efficiency of your organisation, see our services for small to medium enterprises to find out how we can help.
