In today’s environmentally conscious world, consumers, investors, and employees are increasingly prioritising sustainability when making decisions. As a result, businesses that can effectively position themselves as leaders in sustainability can gain a significant competitive advantage.  There are several ways a company can implement sustainability strategies, one of which is energy efficiency. Taking a positively sustainable approach to your business’ energy usage is a brilliant way to reduce energy consumption, improve the carbon footprint, maintain a positive reputation, but also benefit from a reduction in energy bills, saving the business money too. In this blog we explain the reasons why positioning your business as a leader in sustainability is a good thing and the benefits this provides.    Key strategies for positioning your business as a leader in sustainability: Embed sustainability into your core values and mission statement. Make sustainability a fundamental principle that guides all your business decisions. This will demonstrate your genuine commitment to environmental and social responsibility. Set ambitious and measurable sustainability goals. Clearly define your sustainability objectives and establish concrete targets for reducing your carbon footprint, conserving resources, and promoting social equity. Track your progress regularly and communicate your achievements to stakeholders. Adopt sustainable business practices across all operations. Implement energy-efficient practices, reduce waste, source sustainable materials, and minimise your environmental impact throughout your value chain.   The benefits of being a sustainability leader in your industry  By working to establish your business as a sustainability leader in your industry, not only will you work to improve the energy efficiency of your business and help to reduce your impact on the environment, but your reputation will benefit also. Some of the many benefits of prioritising your sustainability strategy can be found below:   Enhanced Brand Reputation and Customer Loyalty – Consumers have been found to be increasingly seeking out companies that align with their values, particularly those that prioritise sustainability. By demonstrating a commitment to environmental and social responsibility, businesses can enhance their brand reputation, attract environmentally conscious customers, and nurture long-term customer loyalty.   Improve your company’s impact on the environment – Ultimately one of the key goals of pushing sustainability principles forward is to improve the impact of which organisations and individuals have on the environment. Saving the planet and working to reduce harmful emissions is imperative for the preservation of future generations. By being a leader in your industry, you can encourage your competitors and partners to follow suit. Rather than competing with one another, this is a great opportunity for businesses to come together with a shared goal.    Improved financial performance – Sustainability practices can lead to significant cost savings, particularly through reduced energy consumption, waste management, and resource utilisation. These cost reductions can directly translate into improved profitability and financial performance. A great opportunity for businesses to help the environment whilst cutting costs and making greater profits.   Strengthen relationships with investors and suppliers – Those with a key interest in your business will be much more likely to place greater trust within the scalability and longevity of your business if you begin to place yourself as a leader in sustainability now rather than later. With an expectation on businesses to make big changes before it’s too late, investors, partners, and suppliers, are paying closer attention to those businesses who are actively making a change.    As sustainability leaders, businesses can play a significant role in shaping a more sustainable future for the planet and society. By demonstrating best practices and advocating for sustainable policies, businesses can help mitigate climate change, conserve resources, and promote social equity. This can be done in a number of ways, but some great places to start are to consider renewable energy supplies and look at ways to reduce your energy usage, and carbon emissions. For more support of this, our team can provide the advice and details of our services you may need to access renewable energy sources, and take greater control over your energy usage (smart meter roll-out).

A lot of people have been put off buying an electric car because the charging aspect is very different from just filling your car up with diesel or petrol. We take a look at how long electric vehicle charging takes, and how long the charge will last. How long does it take to charge an electric car? The amount of time it will take to charge an electric car will depend on two things: Battery size – the bigger the battery the longer it will take to charge Amount of power the charger can deliver It can take anywhere between 30 minutes and 12 hours to charge an electric vehicle, but it usually takes around 8 hours on average. How are electric cars charged? Electric cars are charged by being plugged into a power outlet – either at your home or at a car park or service station. If you are going on a long drive, it is advised that you stop at a service station along the way and charge your car. The advantage of charging your car at an electric vehicle charging station rather than at home is that the service station will usually have commercial chargers that will charge your vehicle much faster. It has been said that the most efficient way to charge your car is in small bursts throughout the day, and then leave it plugged in overnight when you get home. Can I charge my electric car at home? Yes. You can have an electric vehicle charging point installed at home so that you can easily charge your vehicle when you are not using it. D-ENERGI also offers an electric vehicle charging station solution for workplaces, offering employers a free no-obligation site survey. How much will it cost to charge an electric car? It is quite easy to work out how much it will cost to charge your electric car by doing a few simple calculations. You need to know the kWh of the charging point and then multiply this by the cost of your electricity. To find the kWh of your charging point, you will need to check the power of your charger. Most home chargers are 3.7w but it is best to check yours just to make sure. You then need to convert this power into watts by multiplying it by 1000. So, a standard electric vehicle home charger is 3.7kwh x 1000 = 3700 watts Then think about how long you will be charging your electric vehicle. If we go with the standard of 8 hours, then we need to multiply 3700 watts by 8 hours = 29600 watts. We then divide this by 1000 to convert it back to kWh, which brings us to 29.6 kWh. Now that we know the kWh it will take us to charge our electric vehicle, we can work out how much this will cost us by multiplying the kWh by the cost of electricity. The average cost of electricity is 0.13p at the moment, so we multiply 0.13 by 29.6 = £3.80 a day. To find out more about how D-ENERGi can help you with electric vehicle charging points for domestic or commercial use, please get in touch.

  It’s certainly no costa del sol! So why is Germany the leading producer of solar generation? From last year the German government decided to close all its nuclear producing plants after the Fukushima nuclear accident closing immediately 8 nuclear power plants and committing to close all others by 2022. Germany are looking to replace the powerplants with renewable solutions such as bio-mass, wind and solar. German solar power plants now produce a world record 22 gigawatts of electricity which is equal to 20 nuclear power plants at full capacity.  Germany is now a world leader in the solar power generation market. After such incredible steps Germany’s aims to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by 2020 means they are certainly well on their way!

  A £7m loan from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to The Green Deal Finance Company (TGDFC) has been agreed today that will allow TGDFC to continue developing its offer of low cost finance, expected to be available early in 2013. Green Deal Providers will be able to access finance through TGDFC, enabling them to offer low cost finance packages to consumers upgrading their homes under the Green Deal. The Green Deal is also being considered as an early candidate for the use of infrastructure guarantees, Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, announced today. This demonstrates the Government’s commitment to working with the private sector to provide finance at a low but sustainable cost to Green Deal customers. Infrastructure guarantees will provide guarantees for major UK infrastructure projects and could potentially support up to £40 billion of investment. From today, the register for Green Deal Providers, Assessors and Installers will also open. The register will give the seal of approval to businesses that successfully go through the Green Deal authorisation process. All authorised Green Deal Providers, Assessors and Installers will have to display the new Green Deal Quality Mark to demonstrate they comply with the required Green Deal standards. This will be vital for protecting customers from any rogue traders. Only registered and authorised businesses will be able to use this mark. To find out more please visit the Department of Energy of Climate Change.