What should YOU do to reduce your contribution to CO2 emissions?

Apr 27 2021

There has been much talk of the energy transformation – but what exactly is it, and how does it affect businesses?

The energy transition is the change of the energy sector from fossil based and carbon emitting fuels, to energy sources with zero carbon emissions and improved sustainability. This has been a major issue for Energy companies for the last few years – particularly those involved in Oil and Gas production which, when combusted, are the major sources of carbon emissions. But it is not just the Energy sector’s problem - the transition has ramifications for ALL businesses.

There are many facets to achieving the transition objectives –the most obvious being to switch away from fossil fuels to more sustainable technology such as renewables. However, there are other changes that ALL companies will need to make – which include reducing or eliminating their use of energy, and looking for alternative ways by which it is obtained.

Reducing or eliminating energy usage can be achieved by the following:

Reducing the need – stopping processes, sourcing locally, lowering temperatures, reduced travel, cutting back on commuting by working from home, etc.
Improving efficiency – through getting a better return from each unit of energy (e.g. more efficient industrial processes or newer equipment such as computer hardware or lighting that uses less power)
Eliminating waste – e.g through reusing or recycling more, better insulation, planning for end of life disposal.

Alternative ways that energy can be sourced include the following:

Changing primary fuel type – e.g. switching to electric vehicles, looking at alternative fuel types for heating, cooling (e.g. switching from gas to electricity).
Local generation – Small scale renewables generation – e.g. wind turbine, solar or ground source heat pumps
Co-generation – using metropolitan heating systems, investing in community generation projects – wind or solar

The above are just illustrations of what can be done. However it is clear that to deliver on energy transition commitments, EVERY company needs to play its part – but the specific solutions for each company will depend on its own, unique circumstances and needs.

If you do not have a strategy and detailed plans for how your company is going to address the energy transition, or your the current plans were created some time ago and have not been reviewed for a while, then we can help.