Energy scheme to save manufacturers thousands

Food and drink manufacturers could save thousands of pounds a year in reduced energy costs, thanks to the EU’s new Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (ESOS), according to the man responsible for leading compliance with the new rules.

Martin Adams, ESOS team leader, Energy Efficiency Deployment Office, said the legislation applied to all firms with more than 250 employees. “ESOS is a mandatory scheme affecting every large undertaking in the UK,” said Adams, who is taking part in our free, one-hour webinar on the subject at 11am GMT on Thursday September 18. See more details below.

‘£1.6bn over the next 15 years’

“It has the potential to save businesses thousands of pounds a year through reduced energy bills,” he said. “If ESOS participants reduce energy consumption by an average of 1% it would lead to net benefits to the UK of £1.6bn over the next 15 years.”

ESOS rules require all firms with more than 250 employees to complete an ESOS compliant energy audit before December 2015 to identify energy saving opportunities. But they will not be required to implement the potential energy savings revealed by the audit.

More than 7,000 large businesses in Britain are expected to be affected by the new energy audit, which must be repeated every four years. Jes Rutter, md of energy efficiency specialist JRP Solutions, said the scheme would focus attention on an area neglected by some firms. “ESOS presents industrial firms with an opportunity to improve not only their environmental credentials but to make a significant and positive impact upon their bottom line performance,” said Rutter, who also taking part in the September online seminar.

New legislation

The webinar – Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme: switch onto savings – aims to help large firms  get to grips with the new legislation and firms of all size identify the scope for savings in their businesses.

Free-to-attend, the one-hour webinar on Thursday September 18 will take the form of short presentations from the government’s Energy Efficiency Deployment Office, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) and JRP Solutions.

Speakers will include:

  • Martin Adams, ESOS team leader, Energy Efficiency Deployment Office
  • Steve Reeson, FDF head of climate change and energy policy
  • Jes Rutter, md JRP Solutions
  • A representative of a food or drink manufacturing firm

 

Reserve your free place here. The webinar will conclude with a question and answer session and you can put your question in advance to our expert panel by emailing Michael.stones@wrbm.com.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, FoodManufacture.co.uk reported the views of a former government insider who said Russian president Vladimir Putin should be praised for focusing attention on the security of UK energy supplies.