Environmental & Regulatory
Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the obedience of fools, goes the old saying. But there are always exceptions – and utilities is certainly a sector where legislative and regulatory measures aren’t just guidance.
That means extensive compliance, transparency and detailed reports to regulators and other interested parties. At the same time, you have to meet the needs of shareholders and customers.
Don’t fret. What you might think of as time-consuming and unproductive chores can add value to your business by delivering accessible, relevant data that can trigger new ideas, streamline the way you operate, reinforce best practice and support improvements.
We’ve seen it happen repeatedly during our decades working with utilities and other regulated sectors, such as financial services. It’s a matter of integrating your systems, harnessing your data and letting it speak to you in easily understandable reports – whether you’re obeying the rules governing financial standards, performance benchmarks, carbon reduction or emissions trading.
Green is good
Perhaps the most talked-about focus for recent regulation is the environment – and when it comes to the environment, we practice what we preach. We’ve cut our UK carbon emissions by 15 per cent over two years, creating annual savings of more than £3 million and cutting £7 million in travel costs in the process.
We can do the same for you – and more. For example, we’ve helped to reduce a government department’s data centre energy consumption by 80 per cent. Meanwhile, a town of 20,000 households reduced its electricity use by 13 per cent as part of a project in which we played a leading role. We’ve also taken the eco approach to projects as diverse as intelligent transport systems, smart meters, emissions registries, energy efficiency applications and wind farms.
That’s how we know that environmental legislation need not mean added bureaucracy and costs. It can open up new business opportunities.
Take the Carbon Reduction Commitment, which forces 5,000 organisations to monitor and report energy use. They can then spend 10 per cent of their annual energy budget on emissions allowances. With accurate reporting, you could get extra cash flow worth tens of thousands – or even tens of millions.
Our Sustainability Indicator Reporting Application (SIRA) is a flexible and cost-effective method of reporting on many sustainability indicators. It highlights risk areas, progress against targets and provokes strategic discussions and planning to achieve significant cost reductions. It’s easy to understand, too – you see everything on a practical, graphical dashboard.
