Companies sharing ratios, save faster on energy consumption
How does my company do in the environmental domain? Do we use a lot of energy? What is the average? These questions are heared a lot when companies have made an energy scan. The monitoring of energy consumption is a good first step. But it becomes really interesting when a company can benchmark that consumption with other companies. This may be with indicators such as electricity consumption per kilogram or per product. Companies that share these ratios, not only help others but also themselves.
A ratio as a concrete indicator
Key figures make energy saving concrete and therefore inspiring. On the internet you can find some indicators for various industries. These examples not only show the average values but also the best scores. The advantage of this, is that it also provides a company that scores better than average concrete indicators. An explanation of how a company has come to the best score in an industry is then often very useful because it gives insight in how to get there.
Learning from best practices
It is experienced that it is most interesting when companies share their ratios and talk about it in a group. So they can learn from each other’s best practices. You can see great results in sustainability circles. In a circle of sustainability, companies from the same industry come together and discuss their environmental performance, indicators and measures.
Call for more sharing of ratios
It would be good if more companies share and benchmark their ratios. They then can reflect on the nearest or even best scoring rival. Companies actively work faster and save more energy if they do so. And in the end, that sharing of indicators, averages and best values is not only good for financial results, it also helps a bit to stop climate change.
Use our 4-step roadmap towards a carbon neutral business, and find out how your company can start saving.
Image: Citymarketing Tilburg