Manufacturing businesses could benefit from thousands of pounds of savings on energy bills following the launch of a new Energy Efficiency Audit programme from NatWest and RBS.
The audit programme, run in partnership with RBS Group’s business consultancy service Mentor, has been rolled out across the UK following a pilot in the north of England which saw participation from over 60 businesses.
The companies, all with an annual energy spend of between £10,000 and £200,000 a year participated and achieved an average projected potential saving of £23,000.
This included annual savings on payments as well as potential refunds from overpaid energy bills.
Mark Eastwood, head of manufacturing for Commercial Banking at NatWest and RBS, said manufacturing businesses could be missing out on renewable energy opportunities simply because they do not know they exist.
“The audits look at the behaviours of businesses from helping them tackle the small things like encouraging staff to switch off lights and appliances, as well as implementing energy saving initiatives such as better insulation and equipment to regulate energy flow into buildings,” he said.
Mr Eastwood, who spoke to The Manufacturer about his new role overseeing the SME market earlier this month, added the programme has been rolled out to help businesses make more informed decisions about energy use.
“Something as simple as checking your business is on the correct energy tariff could make a huge
difference. The audit resulted in an annual projected saving of over £6,000 for furniture manufacturer Contrax as well as an £11,000 refund by simply switching them to the correct tariff.”
Simon Baldwin, a director of Contrax, said his company worked closely with an RBS and Natwest mentor to implement changes, such as burning leftover waste materials including sawdust, wood off-cuts, pallets and veneers in an industrial wood waste burner.
Mr Baldwin, who said the move reduced Contrax’s oil bill and waste by a third, added: “Another bonus is that the factory floor is now much tidier, as we don’t need to store waste for the next skip. This means the factory is a safer and more open place.”
