New Support to Help ‘Energise’ Scottish Organisations

Zero Waste Scotland is calling on Scottish organisations to use less energy and make significant savings on their energy bills with a new package of support released today by the Resource Efficient Scotland programme.

The free support includes a series of training events and a new guide providing simple, step by step instructions, checklists and templates to help SMEs conduct an energy audit and take action to realise savings. Resource Efficient Scotland can also provide guidance on funding and offer one-to-one support to implement projects.

Marissa Lippiatt, Head of Resource Efficiency at Zero Waste Scotland said: “Resource Efficient Scotland has helped over 1,500 SMEs in Scotland to look at their resource use and find ways of making savings. On energy alone, the average cost saving identified is over £19,000 per business. And very often these savings can be realised by taking simple, no and low cost action.

“This new guide will show businesses how they can conduct their own in-house audit to find these valuable energy and cost savings. Business that take advantage and improve their energy efficiency can prepare their operations to face rising energy prices, increasing climate change legislation and the growing demand for environmentally responsible suppliers.”

Zero Waste Scotland estimates that Scottish organisations could save £2.9 billion every year by using energy, water and raw materials more efficiently. The new guide adds to Resource Efficient Scotland’s range of free services that includes specialist one-to-one-one advice and support, training and funding.

The new energy auditing guide and training is available here.

Case Study: Multi Packaging Solutions Ltd identify £92,000 annual savings with Resource Efficient Scotland audit

International print and packaging company Multi Packaging Solutions Ltd identified over £92,000 after Resource Efficient Scotland performed a full audit of the facilities and processes at its site in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

The global company, which operates five manufacturing facilities across Scotland, identified a range of projects and simple improvements to reduce energy use across the factory. The audit confirmed that upgrading to efficient LED lighting across the site would provide annual savings of £80,000 within only 3.5 years of installation. A further £12,000 was then identified through low cost and free improvements, including £1,500 from reviewing space heating control settings.

Brian Morris, Quality Assurance & Business Systems Manager at Multi Packaging Solutions Ltd, said: “Resource Efficient Scotland’s audit was very useful. Having an additional view on how we control our processes and manage our systems helped us to identify potential opportunities for improvement. A fresh pair of eyes looking from the outside of the organisation can sometimes be the most valuable thing to ensure that we continue to identify and drive areas for improvement.”