ScottishPower and Resource Efficient Scotland team up to help Scottish SMEs to become more energy efficient
ScottishPower has announced at the Scottish Business Exhibition that it has joined forces with Resource Efficient Scotland, a Scottish Government-funded programme delivered by Zero Waste Scotland, which works with Scottish businesses and organisations to help them use energy, water and raw materials more efficiently.
For many small businesses, energy efficiency is far down the priority list but ScottishPower wants to show that even small steps can help SMEs reap long lasting rewards. Typically, a business can cut its energy costs by 20 percent by undertaking no-cost or low-cost energy efficiency measures.
ScottishPower has become the first energy provider in Scotland to actively promote Resource Efficient Scotland’s comprehensive energy audits to their business customers.
Higher consumption customers will have the opportunity to receive a one-to-one audit to find out how they can save energy – auditors will visit the company and look at all aspects related to resource efficiency. ScottishPower has pledged to support Resource Efficient Scotland to carry out 100 audits over the course of this winter.
ScottishPower will promote Resource Efficient Scotland’s free tools to their 225,000 SME customers to help them make informed choices about the measures they can take to become more energy efficient.
The Green Town and Savings Finder tools are both designed to inspire ideas for energy and wider resource efficiency. For example, simple steps like moving sofas away from radiators can help businesses save energy that would otherwise be lost.
Neil Clitheroe, CEO of Retail and Generation said:
“ScottishPower has invested over £400 million since 2008 on energy efficiency programmes across the UK, working with a range of partners and community groups. We have more than a quarter of a million SME customers and we recognise that is it part of our job as a responsible energy supplier to provide businesses with the best energy advice available.
”We are really pleased to be working with Resource Efficient Scotland, and we hope it will lead to real benefits for our SME customers. They will have access to tools which are quick and easy to use allowing them to identify ways of reducing wasted energy.
“The rewards for small businesses that save energy can be significant. We recognise that every penny is important and we want to help customers to be as efficient as possible.”
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland said:
‘We are delighted to be working with ScottishPower, to help its customers become more energy efficient. We know that for many businesses in Scotland, energy efficiency can seem last in a long list of priorities, but our message today is that even simple steps can have a big impact on the environment and businesses’ bottom line.
‘Resource Efficient Scotland provides free support, advice and in some cases funding opportunities to Scottish businesses, and it’s great that ScottishPower will be helping to raise awareness of this. We want to spread the message that resource efficiency makes good business sense, and would welcome the opportunity to work with other organisations to help promote our services.’
Notes to editors:
ScottishPower
ScottishPower strives to understand the business of each SME customer and tailor its offering accordingly – we believe there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach. Our Business Energy Team is dedicated to helping customers make cost savings where possible, ensuring they are on the right tariff and providing support in managing their payments and consumption. We look at SME customers as an individual business and tailor our service to their needs. We identify ways of making the customer’s business more energy efficient, which in turn saves them money, but the key is to listen first before solving the problem. It is our aspiration to create a personalised experience for each customer.
ScottishPower is part of the Iberdrola Group, a global energy company and world leader in wind energy with operations focused in the UK, US, Brazil, Mexico and Spain.
For more information on ScottishPower, visit http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/smallbusiness
Resource Efficient Scotland
Resource Efficient Scotland is a programme of Zero Waste Scotland, the Scottish Government funded body that aims to help businesses reduce costs by implementing resource efficiencies in energy, water raw materials and waste management. It offers free advice, technical support, training and a number of efficiency tools including:
Green Town
Green Town is an online virtual sustainable community. Users can hover over a number of different buildings and businesses to access ideas on how to avoid waste, comply with new laws, and save money. Covering a wide range of local facilities including a pub, a bakery, a college and a food factory, Green Town lets you explore the buildings’ interiors and operations and is designed to inspire ideas for efficiency.
http://www.resourceefficientscotland.com/tool/green_town
Savings Finder
This free online resource efficiency planning tool allows businesses to create a free report highlighting their best resource saving opportunities. By inputting their details into a questionnaire, businesses will then be provided with a full report detailing the energy, water and raw material cost savings that they could make. They will also receive an action plan, showing step-by-step actions to help them save money with signposts to the latest free tools, resources and funding.
http://www.resourceefficientscotland.com/resource/savings-finder
For media enquiries about Zero Waste Scotland, contact:
Chloe Bellany, PR Officer
t: 01786 239764
m: 07540517127
e: chloe.bellany@zerowastescotland.org.uk