Energy saving for SMEs
Is there a will and a way when it comes to energy saving among small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in New Zealand?
Cle-Anne Gabriel and Dr Sara Walton: "We want to understand what it would take to change the perception of energy being an overhead they cannot change, to something they can actually be quiet smart about …"
Dr Sara Walton (Management) hopes to answer that question by examining the way SMEs use energy and their attitudes to it, using the University's Energy Cultures Framework developed by Otago researchers.
A pilot study, designed in conjunction with the Energy Cultures team, is examining the energy habits of eight Dunedin companies across a range of industries that employ fewer than 19 people.
"Interestingly, we are finding that these companies' energy spend is less than five per cent of the total cost of production so they are not terribly interested in the energy spend because they have bigger fish to fry."
However, she says it is important for the country, in terms of reducing total energy consumption.
“We want to understand what it would take to change the perception of energy being an overhead they cannot change, to something they can actually be quite smart about – especially given that energy prices are going to continue to increase and could become a much more significant part of the cost of production.”
Walton and colleagues are also working in partnership with Durham University in the UK which has a similar study underway, although UK SMEs have up to 50 employees.
"We will compare our initial results with theirs to see if there are any similarities. The UK is quite different in terms of some of the subsidies you can get for energy technology."